pontoon

¹

[ pon-toon ]

noun

1. Military. a boat or some other floating structure used as one of the supports for a temporary bridge over a river.
2. a float for a derrick, landing stage, etc.
3. Nautical. a float for raising a sunken or deeply laden vessel in the water; a camel or caisson.
4. a seaplane float.

pontoon

²

[ pon-toon ]

noun

, British.

1. the card game twenty-one.

pontoon

¹

/ pɒnˈtuːn /

noun

1. Also calledesp UStwenty-onevingt-et-un a gambling game in which players try to obtain card combinations worth 21 points
2. (in this game) the combination of an ace with a ten or court card when dealt to a player as his first two cards

pontoon

²

/ pɒnˈtuːn /

noun

1. 1. a watertight float or vessel used where buoyancy is required in water, as in supporting a bridge, in salvage work, or where a temporary or mobile structure is required in military operations
   2. ( as modifier )

      a pontoon bridge

2. nautical a float, often inflatable, for raising a vessel in the water

Word History and Origins

Origin of pontoon¹

1585–95; < French ponton < Latin pontōn- (stem of pontō ) flat-bottomed boat, punt

Origin of pontoon²

1915–20; alteration of French vingt-et-un twenty-one

Word History and Origins

Origin of pontoon¹

C20: probably an alteration of French vingt-et-un, literally: twenty-one

Origin of pontoon²

C17: from French ponton, from Latin pontō punt, floating bridge, from pōns bridge

Example Sentences

It rained shortly after dawn, leaving the skies an ominously gunmetal gray, but the pontoon boat tour was still a go.

From Washington Post

The lake is also popular for pontoon boats, water skiing and tubing.

From Washington Post

Floating bridges elsewhere in the world tend to span separate pontoons that are spaced out like stepping stones, Rodda says.

From MIT Technology Review

And, with limited money and time, I can't help it, visiting them, and tooling around on a pontoon boat or walking to an adorable ice cream shop, feels more restful and rejuvenating than driving with my mom to the failing Food Lion.

From Washington Post

Though it can stand on land, Prvok was specially designed to live on a pontoon.

From Singularity Hub 

You stand on an unsteady pontoon bridge spanning the Tigris River in a township called Adh Dhouloueya.

From The Daily Beast

You guard the pontoon bridge with a squad of Iraqi Army soldiers and a single interpreter.

From The Daily Beast

While we have not definitively located the video, in one video tanks can be seen crossing a pontoon bridge into Ukraine.

From The Daily Beast

He proceeded to use five pontoon bridges to get his troops across the Rappahannock River.

From Project Gutenberg

Sometimes a girder is rolled out about one-third of its length, and then supported on a floating pontoon.

From Project Gutenberg

In leaving the pontoon for the offing, the various craft increase in size as the water deepens.

From Project Gutenberg

As the real channel is approached, the bridge stops abruptly, and a series of pontoon-like barges takes the place of it.

From Project Gutenberg

On the 14th and 15th, by means of his pontoon bridges near Wilcox's Landing, Grant crossed to the south side of the river.

From Project Gutenberg