pontoon

¹

Also pon·ton

[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. 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

pontoon

²

/ pɒnˈtuːn /

noun

1. Also called: twenty-one.  vingt-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

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

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

Origin of pontoon²

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

Example Sentences

And then finally somebody shouted and we all looked to see the steamboat towing the pontoon boat up the river.

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Agent Savills said it was a unique opportunity to own the vacant island, which is wooded and has its own landing pontoon.

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"I could smell gas leaking, some gentlemen helped take passengers off a pontoon boat that got stuck in the shore," Ms Brigantino said.

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Fishing: At Trinity Lake, you can rent a deck boat, pontoon boat or houseboat and try your hand at catching large and smallmouth bass, rainbow trout and Kokanee salmon.

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Fraser came of age on Mercer Island, adjacent to Lake Washington’s eastern shore, across a heavily-trafficked pontoon bridge notorious for fatal crashes.

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