tonnage

or tun·nage

[ tuhn-ij ]

noun

1. the capacity of a merchant vessel, expressed either in units of weight, as deadweight tons, ton, or of volume, as gross tons. ton.
2. ships collectively considered with reference to their carrying capacity or together with their cargoes.
3. a duty on ships or boats at so much per ton of cargo or freight, or according to the capacity in tons. ton.

tonnage

/ ˈtʌnɪdʒ /

noun

1. the capacity of a merchant ship expressed in tons, for which purpose a ton is considered as 40 cubic feet of freight or 100 cubic feet of bulk cargo, unless such an amount would weigh more than 2000 pounds in which case the actual weight is used
2. the weight of the cargo of a merchant ship
3. the total amount of shipping of a port or nation, estimated by the capacity of its ships
4. a duty on ships based either on their capacity or their register tonnage

Word History and Origins

Origin of tonnage¹

1375–1425; late Middle English: duty < Old French. See ton ¹, -age

Word History and Origins

Origin of tonnage¹

C15: from Old French, from tonne barrel

Example Sentences

The sheer tonnage of story and character we were able to pack into “Discovery” every episode was kind of incredible.

From Los Angeles Times

Ten years after California passed landmark legislation to reduce plastic bag use, the tonnage of discarded bags has skyrocketed.

From Los Angeles Times

"We don't want this to be a recurrent issue. We don't want to drop transits or tonnage," she says.

From BBC

Although, even in the weeks before and after, increased tonnages are visible at both the company’s recycling and compost facilities.

From Los Angeles Times

As policymakers wrestle with this dilemma, residents who live near the two landfills have asked sanitation agencies to explore diverting some tonnage elsewhere.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• amount
• breadth
• capacity
• content
• diameter
• extent
• height
• intensity
• length
• magnitude
• proportion
• range
• scope
• stature
• volume
• width