Word
pontoon
Phoneticspon·toon
US/pɑnˈtun/
UK/pəntˈuːn/
Definition
n. a flat, floating platform used to carry people or things across water. It can also be a long, flat boat used to carry vehicles or heavy equipment.
n. a flat, floating platform or a long, flat-bottomed boat used for transporting vehicles or heavy cargo across water. Often used in military or industrial contexts for bridging or ferrying.
Examples
“The soldiers used a pontoon to cross the river.”
“The construction crew built a temporary bridge using several large pontoons to reach the island.”
“During the amphibious assault, the naval forces deployed a series of heavy-duty pontoons to create a stable landing platform for the armored vehicles.”
Examples
simple
“The soldiers used a pontoon to cross the river.”
contextual
“The construction crew built a temporary bridge using several large pontoons to reach the island.”
complex
“During the amphibious assault, the naval forces deployed a series of heavy-duty pontoons to create a stable landing platform for the armored vehicles.”
Real-World Examples
“The state government confirmed it will spend $5m to upgrade a pontoon to a ferry wharf over the next six months, to be running in time for summer.” Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French ponton, from Old French ponton, from Latin pontō, pontōnem (“ferryboat”), from pōns (“bridge”).
Probably from vingt-un, an obsolete variant of vingt-et-un (“twenty-one”), from French.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/pontoon