a unit of capacity equal to 36 bushels. Formerly used in the US for the measurement of solids, being equivalent to 1.268 cubic metres. Used in Britain for both solids and liquids, it is equivalent to 1.309 cubic metres
Word origin
C17: from Old French chauderoncauldron
chaldron in American English
(ˈtʃɔldrən)
noun
an old unit of dry measure, now used in Great Britain only for measuring coal or coke and equal to 36 bushels