pontoon

1 of 2

noun (1)

pon·​toon pän-ˈtün 

1

: a flat-bottomed boat (such as a lighter)

especially : a flat-bottomed boat or portable float used in building a floating temporary bridge

2

: a float especially of a seaplane

pontoon

2 of 2

noun (2)

British

: blackjack sense 1

Examples of pontoon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The twist is that along the way, in exchange for the money or fuel at each pontoon, two players must volunteer to be abandoned, thus sacrificing safety from the first murder and enduring a cold and wet afternoon on the loch. —Joe Reid, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2025

That first boat jump spanned 80 feet, with a 24-foot-long, four-foot-high ramp assisting in the vault, while the later pontoon explosion was created with the help of the film’s VFX team. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2025

Josey — who was found asleep and alone on the adrift pontoon later that day — still holds a lot of guilt. —Brianne Tracy, People.com, 14 Feb. 2025

Josey had been found asleep and alone on an adrift pontoon boat that Rivera had rented three hours earlier that day. —Brianne Tracy, People.com, 12 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

French ponton, from Old French, from Latin ponton-, ponto

Noun (2)

perhaps alteration of vingt-et-un

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1676, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

circa 1917, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing pontoon

• pontoon bridge
• pontoon plane

Rhymes for pontoon

• attune
• baboon
• balloon
• bassoon
• buffoon
• cartoon
• cocoon
• festoon
• gaboon
• harpoon
• immune
• impugn

Kids Definition

pontoon

noun

pon·​toon

pän-ˈtün

1

: a flat-bottomed boat

2

: a float used in building a floating bridge

3

: a float of an airplane

Etymology

Noun

from French ponton "a floating bridge, punt," from Latin ponton-, ponto (same meaning), from pont-, pons "bridge" — related to punt entry 1