Standard Lemma guide

tonnage

noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈtʌnɪd͡ʒ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: T AH1 N AH0 JH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: T AH1 N IH0 JH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The number of tons of water that a floating ship displaces.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The capacity of a ship's hold etc in units of 100 cubic feet.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The number of tons of bombs dropped in a particular region over a particular period of time.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A charge made on each ton of cargo when landed etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

The total shipping of a fleet or nation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A weight in tons, especially of cargo or freight.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

a tax imposed on ships that enter the US; based on the tonnage of the ship

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tunnage, tonnage duty

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: duty, tariff

History

Etymology

From Old French tonnage. Equivalent to tonne + -age.

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Belarusian: тана́ж (tanáž) — shipping
  • Bulgarian: тона́ж (tonáž) — shipping
  • Catalan: arqueig — shipping
  • Catalan: tonatge — shipping
  • Danish: tonnage — shipping
  • Finnish: vetoisuus — shipping
  • French: tonnage — shipping
  • Indonesian: tonase — shipping
  • Irish: tonnáiste — shipping
  • Japanese: トン数 (tonsū) — shipping
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tonnasje — shipping
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: tonnasje — shipping
  • Polish: tonaż — shipping
  • Portuguese: tonelagem — shipping
  • Russian: тонна́ж (tonnáž) — shipping
  • Scottish Gaelic: luingeas — shipping
  • Spanish: tonelaje — shipping
  • Swedish: tonnage — shipping
  • Ukrainian: тонна́ж (tonnáž) — shipping
  • Welsh: tunelledd — shipping
Real reading context

tonnage in complete knowledge articles