tonnage

noun

ton·​nage ˈtə-nij 

1

a

: the cubical content of a merchant ship in units of 100 cubic feet

b

: the displacement of a warship

2

a

: total weight in tons shipped, carried, or produced

b

: impressively large amount or weight

3

: a duty formerly levied on every tun of wine imported into England

4

a

: a duty or impost on vessels based on cargo capacity

b

: a duty on goods per ton transported

5

: ships in terms of the total number of tons registered or carried or of their carrying capacity

Examples of tonnage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Another top less-than-truckload (LTL) firm, XPO Logistics, saw its North American LTL division decline 4 percent to $1.17 billion from $1.22 billion in its first quarter on a 7.5 percent decrease in tonnage per day and 5.8 percent decline in daily shipments. —Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 8 May 2025

The enlarged company provides productions with a kind of one-stop shop to make everything cleaner on set, avoiding all that waste and CO2 tonnage. —Allison Begalman, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2025

The vessels will pay a fee based on their net tonnage, which measures the total space on a ship for carrying cargo. —New York Times, 22 Apr. 2025

The new fee charges are based on the net tonnage of a vessel. —Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

in sense 3, from Middle English, from Anglo-French, from tonne tun; in other senses, from ton entry 1 — more at tunnel

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for tonnage

• dunnage

Kids Definition

tonnage

noun

ton·​nage ˈtən-ij 

1

: a tax on ships based on tons carried

2

: ships in terms of the total number of tons that are or can be carried

3

: total weight in tons shipped, carried, or mined