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Robboe Posted 22 years ago
Grammar

Ton vs. tonne

Why does my spell check query "163 tonnes" and prefer "163 tons", but not question "a 163-tonne shipment"? What is the difference between ton and tonne?

thanks

Robert
  

Top answer

Definition ton (WEIGHT) (plural tons or ton) [Show phonetics] noun [C] 1 (SPECIALIZED metric ton or tonne) a unit of weight equal to 1000 kg As I looked up the Cambridge Dic, it seems that both ' ton ' and ' tonne ' are just the same with different spellings.

— Whl626

  • Definition ton (WEIGHT) (plural tons or ton) [Show phonetics] noun [C] 1 (SPECIALIZED metric ton or tonne) a unit of weight equal to 1000 kg As I looked up the Cambridge Dic, it seems that both ' ton ' and ' tonne ' are just the same with different spellings.
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93 Answers
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Definition
ton (WEIGHT) (plural tons or ton) [Show phonetics]
noun [C]
1 (SPECIALIZED metric ton or tonne) a unit of weight equal to 1000 kg

As I looked up the Cambridge Dic, it seems that both ' ton ' and ' tonne ' are just the same with different spellings.
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"ton" and "tonne" mean different things. Use whichever one is correct.

1 ton = 2240 lb (an imperial measurement)
1 tonne = 1000 kg (a metric measurement)

Rommie
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ah, so that's what it is. Thanks Ronnie.
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By the way rommie, thanks for pointing out that the British came up with this whack-as$ system by saying "imperial" and not "American". (although we Americans are apparently too stupid to get rid of it...) hehe.
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Sorry, dude. Imperial measurements existed before America did. (Or at least, before the native Americans got invaded by Europeans, who then called themselves American). America inherited, not invented, the imperial system. The rest of the world then (mostly) stopped using it.

Rommie
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That just reinforces my point. I never asserted that the Americans invented the imperial system.
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Anyway, I don't want to have this argument on second thought. If I annoy rommie, who is going to explain all the posts? Emotion: wink
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I'm not annoyed. Do you think I should have used a smiley or something to make that obvious?
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What's the difference between 2204 lb and 1000 kg? Zilch. So tonne is simply how the Brits spell ton.
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ton (tn or T or t) [1]a traditional unit of weight equal to 20 hundredweight. In the United States and Canada, there are 100 pounds in the hundredweight and exactly 2000 pounds (907.185 k
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