TONNAGE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Tonnage

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/tˈənədʒ/ /tˈənɪdʒ/ Listen

noun

Tonnage n.

The weight of goods carried in a boat or a ship.

The cubical content or burden of a vessel, or vessels, in tons; or, the amount of weight which one or several vessels may carry. See Ton, n. (b). "A fleet... with an aggregate tonnage of 60,000 seemed sufficient to conquer the world."

A duty or impost on vessels, estimated per ton, or, a duty, toll, or rate payable on goods per ton transported on canals.

The whole amount of shipping estimated by tons; as, the tonnage of the United States. See Ton. Note: There are in common use the following terms relating to tonnage: (a) Displacement. (b) Register tonnage, gross and net. (c) Freight tonnage. (d) Builders' measurement. (e) Yacht measurement. The first is mainly used for war vessels, where the total weight is likely to be nearly constant. The second is the most important, being that used for commercial purposes. The third and fourth are different rules for ascertaining the actual burden-carrying power of a vessel, and the fifth is for the proper classification of pleasure craft. Gross tonnage expresses the total cubical interior of a vessel; net tonnage, the cubical space actually available for freight-carrying purposes. Rules for ascertaining these measurements are established by law.

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Etymology of 'Tonnage'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Tonnage" Quotes from Famous Books

... is. It will be the greatest naval battle of history, if the bulk of the British fleet comes up in time. Never before has such a vast array of giant fighting ships as will be engaged in this struggle contended for supremacy. In total tonnage engaged and in the matter of armament and complement it will outrival even the victory of Nelson at Trafalgar and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. And the British, ...

— The Boy Allies at Jutland • Robert L. Drake

... possessions, both for themselves and for trade with the Spaniards, who had none. Brazil prospered beyond expectation and absorbed all the blacks that Portuguese shipping could supply. The Spaniards had no spare tonnage at ...

— Elizabethan Sea Dogs • William Wood

... o'clock the vessel was anchored as they proposed, and Jack was a little astonished to find that the ship was much larger than he had any idea of; for, although polacca-rigged, she was nearly the same tonnage as the Harpy. The Spanish prisoners were first tied hand and foot, and laid upon the beans, that they might give no alarm, the sails were furled and all was kept quiet. On board of the ship, on the contrary, there was noise and revelry; and about half-past ten a boat was seen ...

— Mr. Midshipman Easy • Frederick Marryat

... as the sun was setting, land was seen, and the next morning, at daybreak, the frigate sailed into the Dong-Nai, the king of Cochin Chinese rivers, which is so wide and so deep, that vessels of the largest tonnage can ascend it without difficulty ...

— The Clique of Gold • Emile Gaboriau

... said Barnacle junior, calling after him when he got to the door, unwilling wholly to relinquish the bright business idea he had conceived; 'that it's nothing about Tonnage?' ...

— Little Dorrit • Charles Dickens

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