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tonnage

/ˈtʌnɪdʒ/
IPA guide

Other forms: tonnages

Tonnage is a type of tax. Tonnage is charged to the owners of ships that enter the United States, and the charge depends on how much their freight weighs.

See the word ton in tonnage? That’s a clue this word is related to weight. In fact, it has to do with how much cargo weight is on a ship that's entering the U.S. The greater the weight, the greater the tonnage, which is a tax the ship’s owners must pay. Companies that ship a lot of heavy, bulky goods to the U.S. have to pay a lot of tonnage.

Definitions of tonnage
  1. noun
    a tax imposed on ships that enter the US; based on the tonnage of the ship
    synonyms: tonnage duty, tunnage
    see moresee less
    type of:
    duty, tariff
    a government tax on imports or exports
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