{{Short description|Unit of mass}} {{Infobox unit | name = Short ton | image = Wire Bridge - New Portland, Maine (4616505123).jpg | caption = The Wire Bridge in New Portland, Maine, United States, with a 3-ton gross weight limit. The short ton is primarily used in the US. | standard = United States customary units | quantity = Mass | extralabel = In base units | extradata = {{convert|1.000|ST|lb|disp=out}} | units1 = SI base units | inunits1 = {{convert|1|ST|kg|sigfig=5|disp=out}} | units2 = Metric tons | inunits2 = {{convert|1|ST|t|sigfig=5|disp=out}} | units3 = Long tons | inunits3 = {{convert|1|ST|LT|sigfig=3|disp=out}} }} The '''short ton''' (abbreviation: '''tn'''<ref name=NIST44-C> {{cite web | url = https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2023/01/30/appc-23-HB44.pdf | title = NIST Handbook 44 Specifications: Handbook 44 – 2023 Appendix C – General Tables of Units of Measurement | page = C-7 | date = November 18, 2022 | access-date = May 9, 2023 | quote = 20 hundredweights = 1 ton }}</ref> or '''st'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is a short ton vs long ton? – Sage-Answers |url=https://sage-answers.com/what-is-a-short-ton-vs-long-ton/ |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=sage-answers.com}}</ref>), also known as the '''US ton''',<ref>{{Cite web |last=AME |date=2018-04-03 |title=Ton vs Tonne, what's the difference? Which one is heavier? |url=https://www.asseteng.com.au/blog/whats-difference-ton-tonne-one-heavier/ |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=Asset Management Engineers |language=en}}</ref> is a measurement unit equal to {{convert|2,000|lb|kg|2}}. It is commonly used in the United States, where it is known simply as a '''ton''';<ref name=NIST44-C /> however, the term is ambiguous, the single word "ton" being variously used for short, long, and metric tons.
The various tons are defined as units of mass.<ref>Butcher, Crown and Gentry, NIST Special Publication 1038, The International System of Units (SI) – Conversion Factors for General Use, 2006</ref> They are sometimes used as units of weight, the force exerted by a mass at standard gravity (e.g., short ton-force). One short ton exerts a weight at one standard gravity of 2,000 pound-force (lbf).
==United States== {{anchor|United States}} In the United States, a short ton is usually known simply as a "ton",<ref name=NIST44-C/> without distinguishing it from the tonne ({{convert|1000|kg|lb|2|disp=or}}), known there as the "metric ton", or the long ton also known as the "imperial ton" ({{convert|2240|lb|kg|2|disp=or}}). There are, however, some U.S. applications where unspecified ''tons'' normally mean long tons (for example, naval ships)<ref name=BTS.GOV> {{cite web | url = http://ntl.bts.gov/DOCS/narmain/narmain.html | title = Naval Architecture for All | publisher = United States Bureau of Transportation Statistics | access-date = October 13, 2008 }} </ref> or metric tons (world grain production figures).{{fact|date=February 2024}}
Both the long and short ton are defined as 20 hundredweights, but a hundredweight is {{convert|100|lb|kg|2}} in the US system (short or net hundredweight) and {{convert|112|lb|kg|2}} in the imperial system (long or gross hundredweight).<ref name=NIST44-C/>
A '''short ton–force''' is {{convert|2000|lb-f|N|2|lk=on}}.
==See also==
*Tonnage, volume measurement used in maritime shipping, originally based on {{convert|100|cuft|5}}.
==References== {{reflist}}
{{United States Customary Units}}
Category:Units of mass Ton, short