pontoon

¹ American  

[pon-toon] / pɒnˈtun /

Also ponton

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.

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pontoon ² American  

[pon-toon] / pɒnˈtun /

noun

British.

1. the card game twenty-one.

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pontoon ¹ British  

/ 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

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pontoon ² British  

/ 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

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Etymology

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

Explanation

A pontoon is a flat boat that floats with the help of hollow tubes, also called pontoons. A lakeside resort might have pontoons and canoes that you can rent for the day. The feature that distinguishes a pontoon, or pontoon boat, is the use of airtight cylinders to keep it buoyant. You can call these structures pontoons or floats, and they're used for things like houseboats, and some seaplanes that can land on water — and float there, thanks to pontoons. Sometimes pontoons are also used to support bridges and docks. The word stems from the Latin pontonem, "flat-bottomed boat," and its root pons, or "bridge."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pontoon

BRP manufactures Can-Am ATVs and its popular personal watercraft Sea-Doo, which includes the Sea-Doo Switch pontoon boat lineup.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Dozens queued on a pontoon at Fourka waiting to flee as smoke blotted out the sky over the resorts, according to images broadcast by ERT.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

From the pontoon, she pointed out the marshy shore and sea of pines at stake.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

What to Do: Rent a pontoon boat on Lake Wallenpaupack, then work off the camp-candy crash with a hike through Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026

A stream of fans crossed the pontoon bridge at the western end of the course and began to fill the massive wooden bleachers on the far side of the water.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown