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# tons

noun (a ton, tons; tons of); plural of ton; adverb (informal: tons better)

«tons» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (informal) Tons, or "tons of", means a lot, a great amount: "I've got tons of homework." [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tons/#m1)
2. Tons is the plural of ton, a unit of weight: in the USA a (short) ton is 2,000 pounds (about 907 kg); in the UK an old (long) ton is 2,240 pounds (about 1,016 kg). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tons/#m2)
3. A metric ton, usually spelled "tonne", is 1,000 kilograms. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tons/#m3)
4. (informal) "Tons" can mean much: "She's tons better at chess than me." [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tons/#m4)
5. (UK, informal) "A ton" is also 100: "doing a ton" means 100 miles per hour, and in cricket a ton is a century (100 runs). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tons/#m5)

### In the lessons

In maths and science lessons tons and tonnes measure very heavy things: lorries, ships, whales and elephants. In everyday talk children say "tons of" all the time. Safety signs on bridges show maximum weight in tons/tonnes (with "t" as the symbol). Phrases: "tons of", "weigh a ton", "like a ton of bricks" (very hard).

### Examples

- I've got tons of homework tonight. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tons/#x1)
- An elephant can weigh about 6 tons. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tons/#x2)
- The bridge sign says lorries over 7.5 tonnes cannot cross. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tons/#x3)
- My bag weighs a ton! (informal) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tons/#x4)
- There were tons of people at the fair. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tons/#x5)
- A blue whale weighs over 100 tons. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tons/#x6)
- I feel tons better after a sleep. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tons/#x7)
- He scored a ton in the cricket match, 100 runs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tons/#x8)
- Why, it would take us a year, possibly our whole lives, to eat up twelve oxen and twelve tons of bread.’ [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tons/#x9)

### Note

Trap: ton (US 2,000 lb, UK 2,240 lb) and tonne (1,000 kg) are different; in maths problems use the unit given, and "metric ton" means tonne. 1 tonne = 1,000 kg, so 3 tonnes = 3,000 kg. "Tons of" with uncountable or plural nouns is informal: in exam writing use "a lot of" or "many". Do not confuse ton with "tun" (a large barrel).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «tons» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tons/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«tons» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/tons.html) on Mova free.