deadweight tonnage: Meaning and Definition of

dead'weight ton'nage

Pronunciation: [key]
— Naut. Naut.
  1. the capacity in long tons of cargo, passengers, fuel, stores, etc. of a vessel: the difference between the loaded and light displacement tonnage of the vessel. Also called
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.