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
To accommodate debris removal, the county last week approved a waiver extending the landfill’s hours of operation and increasing the daily tonnage limit from 3,500 tons per day to 5,000.
—
Rebecca Plevin, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2025
Ship capacity transiting through the Panama Canal was 10 percent lower between September 2024 and January 2025 than the 2019-22 average, measured in deadweight tonnage, according to the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO).
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 8 Feb. 2025
The decision berthed an impressive tonnage of stories: The New York Times, New York Post, and even People covered it.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 9 Nov. 2024
Census data does not include tonnage for the vast majority of U.S. exports and imports with Canada and Mexico, its two largest trade partners.
—Ken Roberts, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
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Rebecca Plevin, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2025
Ship capacity transiting through the Panama Canal was 10 percent lower between September 2024 and January 2025 than the 2019-22 average, measured in deadweight tonnage, according to the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO).
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 8 Feb. 2025
The decision berthed an impressive tonnage of stories: The New York Times, New York Post, and even People covered it.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 9 Nov. 2024
Census data does not include tonnage for the vast majority of U.S. exports and imports with Canada and Mexico, its two largest trade partners.
—Ken Roberts, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for tonnage
Cite this Entry
“Tonnage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tonnage. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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