tonnage
noun
ton·nage
| \ ˈtə-nij
\
\
Definition of tonnage
1a
: the cubical content of a merchant ship in units of 100 cubic feet
b
: the displacement of a warship
2a
: 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
4a
: 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
By 1930 the tonnage of German merchant navy was about 4m tonnes, only a little less than the 5m of 1913. — The Economist, "Versailles revisited," 6 July 2019 If residents can eliminate textiles from the municipal waste stream, the town could decrease the tonnage of waste produced, potentially reducing costs on waste disposal. — Johanna Seltz, BostonGlobe.com, "Avon to add separate textile recycling," 14 Aug. 2019 The trade war has curtailed grain exports from the Port of Galveston and caused an 11 percent decline in overall tonnage during the second quarter, according to data released by the port. — Andrea Leinfelder, Houston Chronicle, "Port of Galveston reports increase in wind turbine cargo and cruises, decrease in grains," 6 Aug. 2019 The biggest winner this year, at least as measured by tonnage: King Kong. — Michael Paulson, New York Times, "Who Won and What Happened at the 2019 Tony Awards," 9 June 2019 The five deep-draft river ports in Louisiana include the largest by tonnage in the western hemisphere, and more than 500 million tons of cargo pass through this stretch each year. — Boyce Upholt, Time, "The Mississippi River Is Under Control—For Now," 9 May 2019 Its factory on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa, produces a similar tonnage to that of Ynsect’s Burgundian facility. — The Economist, "Beetles and flies are becoming part of the agricultural food chain," 4 July 2019 At the moment, the tonnages firms like Ynsect and AgriProtein aim to produce are still trivial compared with the multi-million-tonne market for fish feed. — The Economist, "Beetles and flies are becoming part of the agricultural food chain," 4 July 2019 Precision agriculture lets farmers increase crop tonnage while using less land, water, and fertilizer. — Andrew Mcafee, WIRED, "How the iPhone Helped Save the Planet," 29 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tonnage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for tonnage
tonnage
noun
English Language Learners Definition of tonnage
: the size of a ship or the total weight that it carries in tons
: the total weight or amount of something in tons
See the full definition for tonnage in the English Language Learners Dictionary
tonnage
noun
ton·nage
| \ ˈtə-nij
\
\
Kids Definition of tonnage
1
: ships in terms of the total number of tons that are or can be carried
2
: total weight in tons shipped, carried, or mined