tonnetonne /tʌn/ noun (plural tonnes or tonne) [countable] (written abbreviation t) 
Examples
ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
word sets- Following completion of the extension to Rodon polis, the railway expects move 10 to 12 million tonnes of grain and soya.
- Global anthropogenic sulphur dioxide emission reached 75-100 million tonnes a year in 1980.
- In any one year the Soviet Union could choose to substitute up to 750,000 tonnes of any one commodity for another.
- It recommends halving opencast within five years and subsidising deep mines by over £5 per tonne to produce the coal instead of us!
- Net tonnage of goods broke the four million tonne mark reaching 4,001,353 tonnes - a rise of over three percent.
- Right:Two rams from an old Volvo dumper give 10 tonnes of lift at link ends.
- The fish farming industry has grown from a few hundred tonnes of fish in 1980 to 33,000 tonnes perannum in 1990.
- The number of lorries weighing over 10 tonnes unladen shot up by 230 percent.
WORD SETS► Measurement
Collocationsacre, nounacreage, nounavoirdupois, nounbaker's dozen, nounbalance, nounbarometer, nounbaseline, nounbasin, nounbaud rate, nounbearing, nounbecquerel, nounblack box, nounboiling point, nounbottle, nounbox, nouncalculator, nouncalibrate, verbcalibration, nouncc, centi-, prefixcentimetre, nouncircumference, nouncl, clock, verbcm, cu, cubic, adjectivecubit, nouncup, nouncupful, nouncwt, daylight saving time, noundeci-, prefixdecibel, noundecimalization, noundeflection, noundegree, noundensity, noundepth, noundimension, noundipstick, noundisplacement, noundoz., noundozen, numberelevation, nounfactor, nounfathom, nounfl oz, fluid ounce, nounfoot, nounft, g, gage, noungal, gallon, noungauge, noungauge, verbGB, Geiger counter, noungigabyte, noungill, noungirth, noungm, graduated, adjectivegraduation, noungrain, noungram, noungramme, noungrid, noungross, adjectivehandful, nounhectare, nounhertz, nounhigh, adjectivehundredweight, nounimpedance, nounimperial, adjectiveinch, nounindicator, nouninstrument, nounjoule, nounkarat, nounkg, kilo, nounkilo-, prefixkilogram, nounkilometre, nounkm, knot, nounl, latitude, nounlb, league, nounlength, nounlight year, nounliter, nounlitre, nounlow water mark, nounmax, nounmaximum, adjectivemean, adjectivemeasure, verbmeasure, nounmedian, nounmedium, adjectivemegaton, nounmelting point, nounmental age, nounmeter, nounmeter, verb-meter, suffixmetre, noun-metre, suffixmetric, adjectivemetrication, nounmetric ton, nounmg, MHz, microsecond, nounmile, nounmillennium, nounmilli-, prefixmillibar, nounmilligram, nounmillilitre, nounmillimetre, nounminus, adjectiveminute, nounml, mpg, mph, nano-, prefixnanosecond, nounnautical mile, nounounce, nounoverweight, adjectiveoz, pace, verbpart, nounpedometer, nounpint, nounplus, adjectivepoint, nounpound, nounpunnet, nounqt, quantify, verbquart, nounradioactive dating, nounradius, nounrain gauge, nounread, verbreading, nounrecord, verbreset, verbrev, nounrotation, nounrpm, rule, nounruler, nounscale, nounsea level, nounsea mile, nounseismograph, nounsensor, nounset square, nounsextant, nounsnowfall, nounsoundings, nounsq., subsonic, adjectivesundial, nountherm, nountimberline, nountog, nounton, nountonnage, nountonne, nountroy weight, noununit, nounvoltmeter, nounvolume, nounwatch, nounwatt, nounwattage, nounweighbridge, nounweight, nounwidth, nounwt., yard, nounyardage, nounyardstick, nounyd, zero, number
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE► estimated
a unit for measuring weight, equal to 1,000 kilograms → ton(1)· Implementing the directive across the 12 member states would save an estimated 26 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.· Furniture makers already use an estimated 35,000 tonnes of waste wood to fire boilers for space and water heating.· Only 100,000 tonnes of an estimated 500,000 tonnes of food aid required throughout the country had been distributed by early July.
VERB► buy· They could buy a further 41,000 tonnes.· Sucden and Phibro contracted this year to buy 500,000 tonnes of cocoa from the Ivory Coast, the world's biggest producer.· Try buying a tonne of ethanoic acid.· But in the same period of 1990 it bought only 2m tonnes.
► carry· It flies eight times a day from Gondar, carrying 1.8 tonnes of grain every trip.· The biggest are more than 1000 gross tonnes and can carry more than 1200 tonnes of tuna.· The aircraft carries nearly two tonnes of radars and cameras.· But it pulled out across the path of the Volvo truck, carrying nine tonnes of road stone.
► compare· Production of sugar in 1990 was estimated at 18,000 tonnes, compared with 24,700 tonnes in 1989.· Oilseed production is likely to be about 12.8m tonnes, compared with 12.4m tonnes last year.· This compares to some 100,000 tonnes in the mid-1970s sold to a smaller Community.· Only 780,000 tonnes of cod are ready to spawn this year, compared with 1.1 million tonnes in 1991.
► estimate· Production of sugar in 1990 was estimated at 18,000 tonnes, compared with 24,700 tonnes in 1989.· The World Food Programme estimates that 7,000 tonnes of food is necessary to stabilise the situation.· Global anthropogenic emission of oxides of nitrogen for 1980 were estimated at 75 million tonnes.· Total emissions are estimated at 2,100 tonnes a year.· The 1989 food deficit was estimated at 349,109 tonnes of grain, according to a government announcement on Nov. 3, 1989.
► export· Last year we exported 110,000 tonnes of biscuits worth £182 million, a tenth more than 1990.
► fall· Last year solid waste totalled 227,000 tonnes but this is forecast to fall to 206,000 tonnes this year.· Annual output from open-cast mines is expected to fall by four million tonnes to 12 million by 1997-98.· Halon imports fell from 1,250 tonnes in 1986 to 280 tonnes.· Catches have fallen from 36,000 tonnes in 1988 to 28,000 tonnes in 1992 and the number of fish is down by two-thirds.· The contracts specify both prices and volume - 70 million tonnes this year, falling to 65 million tonnes next year.
► handle· Mr Risbridger said they planned to invest and upgrade dock facilities by developing riverside berths capable of handling 8,000 tonnes.· The line is expected to handle around 2 million tonnes of freight each year.· In 1990 alone, it handled 32,000 tonnes of freight, including a variety of perishable products.
► produce· It should produce 5000 tonnes of the metal per year.· Five working sites currently produce less than 0.1m tonnes per year.· Miraculously, it still produces thousands of tonnes of lead.· Domestic refuse can be burned to produce heat and electricity - we produce 25 million tonnes per year.· This is just across the road from Incline Top and should produce 650,000 tonnes of coal.· There are currently 53 collieries in operation, which are expected to produce 68 million tonnes this financial year.· Courtaulds España produces 62,000 tonnes of acrylic fibre a year.· The sugar harvest for 1990 produced a record 100,297 tonnes.
► reach· Net tonnage of goods broke the four million tonne mark reaching 4,001,353 tonnes - a rise of over three percent.· The 1990 sugar crop was again depressed, reaching only 69,300 tonnes.
► send· Now scientists at the Harwell Laboratory in Oxfordshire are sending three tonnes of protective clothing to Chernobyl to help the clean-up operation.
► total· Last year solid waste totalled 227,000 tonnes but this is forecast to fall to 206,000 tonnes this year.· In 1990 output at Bom Futuro is likely to have totalled only 21,000 tonnes.· It is estimated that world cereal production, which totalled billion tonnes in 1990, will top 3.25 billion tonnes by 2060.· The crudest fragments, totalling around 180,000 tonnes, have been used in widening the Berlin autobahn.· Recorded emissions of sulphur dioxide were 2.67 million tonnes in 1992, while nitrous oxides totalled 701,645 tonnes.
► weigh· Just the tongue from such a mouth can weigh up to 4.22 tonnes.· The new armour is heavy, and a Challenger weighs a massive 60 tonnes.· Trains up to 800m long weighing 1600 tonnes have already been run.· The new car body weighed 9.55 tonnes, and the unladen weight of the complete car proved to be 17.29 tonnes.· The number of lorries weighing over 10 tonnes unladen shot up by 230 percent.· Drivers with lorries weighing above 7.5 tonnes face a five mile detour around the bridge.· In all, the Buckau weighed only 20 tonnes more after her conversion.