The short ton is a unit of mass equal to 2,000 pounds (907.18474 kg). In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton (tonne, 1,000 kilograms / 2,204.62262 pounds) or the long ton (2,240 pounds / 1,016.0469088 kilograms); rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S. applications for which unspecified tons normally means long tons (for example, Navy ships) or metric tons (world grain production figures).

Both the long and short ton are defined as 20 hundredweights, but a hundredweight is 100 pounds (45.359237 kg) in the U.S. system (short or net hundredweight) and 112 pounds (50.80234544 kg) in the Imperial system (long or gross hundredweight).

A short ton–force is 2,000 pounds-force (8,896.443230521 N).

Prior to metrication, Canada followed the US practice in using the word "ton" to refer to the short ton, and "hundredweight" to mean the short hundredweight. Since metrication, the generic term 'ton' may cause confusion when used verbally as to whether the speaker means the short ton or the tonne (metric ton).^{[citation needed]}

Short may refer to:

The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.

It is derived from the tun, the term applied to a barrel of the largest size. This could contain a volume between 210 and 256 gallons (800 to 1000 L), which could weigh around 2,000 pounds (900 kg) and occupy some 60 cubic feet (1.7 m³) of space.

In the United Kingdom the ton is defined as 2,240 pounds (1,016 kg) (avoirdupois pounds).. From 1965 the UK embarked upon a programme of metrication and gradually introduced metric units, including the tonne (metric ton), a non-SI metric unit defined as 1000 kg. The UK Weights and Measures Act 1985 explicitly excluded from use for trade many units and terms, including the ton and the term "metric ton" for "tonne".

In the United States and Canada a ton is defined to be 2,000 pounds (907 kg).