Ton vs. Tun — What's the Difference?

The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years.

A large beer or wine cask.

A unit of weight equal to 2,000 pounds (0.907 metric ton or 907.18 kilograms). Also called net ton, short ton.

An imperial measure of capacity, equal to 4 hogsheads.

A unit of weight equal to 2,240 pounds (1.016 metric tons or 1,016.05 kilograms). Also called long ton.

A large marine mollusc which has a rounded shell with broad spirals.

A metric ton. See Table at measurement.

Store (wine or other alcoholic drinks) in a tun.

A unit of capacity for cargo in maritime shipping, normally estimated at 40 cubic feet.

A large cask for liquids, especially wine.

A unit of internal capacity of a ship equal to 100 cubic feet.

A measure of liquid capacity, especially one equivalent to approximately 252 gallons (954 liters).

A unit for measuring the displacement of ships, equal to 35 cubic feet, and supposed to equal the volume taken by a long ton of seawater.

A large cask; an oblong vessel bulging in the middle, like a pipe or puncheon, and girt with hoops; a wine cask. (See a diagram comparing cask sizes.)

A large extent, amount, or number

(brewing) A fermenting vat.

Used adverbially with a or in the plural to mean "to a great degree or extent" or "frequently"

(historical) A traditional unit of liquid measure equal to 252 wine gallons or 2 pipes.

A unit of weight (mass) equal to 2240 pounds (a long ton) or 2000 pounds (a short ton) or 1000 kilograms (a metric ton).

Synonym of long ton: a unit of mass equal to 2240 pounds, 20 hundredweights of 112 pounds avoirdupois each.

A unit of volume; register ton.

(figurative) ton: any extremely or excessively large amount.

In refrigeration and air conditioning, a unit of thermal power defined as 12,000 BTU/h (about 3.514 kW or 3024 kcal/h), originally the rate of cooling provided by uniform isothermal melting of one short ton of ice per day at 32 °F (0 °C).

Synonym of drunkard: a person who drinks excessively.

A large amount.

Any shell belonging to Tonna and allied genera.

(slang) A speed of 100 mph.

The cryptobiotic state of a tardigrade, when its metabolism is temporarily suspended.

One hundred pounds sterling.

A part of the ancient Maya Long Count Calendar system which corresponds to 18 winal cycles or 360 days.

(cricket) One hundred runs.

(transitive) To put into tuns, or casks.

One hundred points scored.

A large cask; an oblong vessel bulging in the middle, like a pipe or puncheon, and girt with hoops; a wine cask.

Fashion, the current style, the vogue.

A fermenting vat.

Fashionable society; those in style.

A certain measure for liquids, as for wine, equal to two pipes, four hogsheads, or 252 gallons. In different countries, the tun differs in quantity.

The common tunny, or horse mackerel.

A weight of 2,240 pounds. See Ton.

The prevailing fashion or mode; vogue; as, things of ton.

An indefinite large quantity.

A measure of weight or quantity.

A drunkard; - so called humorously, or in contempt.

The weight of twenty hundredweight.

Any shell belonging to Dolium and allied genera; - called also tun-shell.

Forty cubic feet of space, being the unit of measurement of the burden, or carrying capacity, of a vessel; as a vessel of 300 tons burden.

To put into tuns, or casks.

A certain weight or quantity of merchandise, with reference to transportation as freight; as, six hundred weight of ship bread in casks, seven hundred weight in bags, eight hundred weight in bulk; ten bushels of potatoes; eight sacks, or ten barrels, of flour; forty cubic feet of rough, or fifty cubic feet of hewn, timber, etc.

A large cask especially one holding a volume equivalent to 2 butts or 252 gals

A United States unit of weight equivalent to 2000 pounds

A British unit of weight equivalent to 2240 pounds