pontoon

[pon-toon]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pontoon ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Military. a boat or some other floating structure used as one of the supports for a temporary bridge over a river.

a float for a derrick, landing stage, etc.

Nautical. a float for raising a sunken or deeply laden vessel in the water; a camel or caisson.

a seaplane float.

Also pon·ton

[pon-tn] /ˈpɒn tn/.

Origin of pontoon

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

pontoon

[pon-toon]

noun British.

the card game twenty-one.

Origin of pontoon

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for pontoon

raft, craft, boat, barge

Examples from the Web for pontoon

Contemporary Examples of pontoon

You guard the pontoon bridge with a squad of Iraqi Army soldiers and a single interpreter.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq
Nathan Bradley Bethea
August 31, 2014
While we have not definitively located the video, in one video tanks can be seen crossing a pontoon bridge into Ukraine.
Russia’s Military Is Already in East Ukraine. Will There Be a Full-Scale Invasion?
James Miller
August 2, 2014

Historical Examples of pontoon

The bridge swayed, then caved in, where the pontoon had been struck and was sinking.
The Story of the Great War, Volume II (of VIII)
Various
Beyond the burning town was the river, crossed now by six pontoon bridges.
The Long Roll
Mary Johnston
I am pleased with you; but look—there comes a lady on our pontoon.
The Son of Monte-Cristo, Volume I (of 2)
Alexandre Dumas pre
The pontoon wagon was brought up, and unloaded by the side of the river.
In School and Out
Oliver Optic
The horses were attached to the pontoon wagon, ready for a start.
In School and Out
Oliver Optic

British Dictionary definitions for pontoon

pontoon

noun

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
(as modifier)a pontoon bridge

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

Word Origin for pontoon

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

pontoon

noun

Also called: (esp US) twenty-one, vingt-et-un a gambling game in which players try to obtain card combinations worth 21 points

(in this game) the combination of an ace with a ten or court card when dealt to a player as his first two cards

Word Origin for pontoon

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pontoon

"flat-bottomed boat" (especially one to support a temporary bridge), 1670s, from French pontoon, from Old French ponton (14c.) "bridge, drawbridge, boat-bridge; flat-bottomed boat," from Latin pontonem (nominative ponto) "flat-bottomed boat," from pons "bridge" (see pons). Pontoon bridge is first recorded 1778.