'Pontoon' definitions:
Definition of 'pontoon'
From: WordNet
noun
(nautical) a floating structure (as a flat-bottomed boat) that serves as a dock or to support a bridge
noun
A float supporting a seaplane
Definition of 'Pontoon'
From: GCIDE
- Pontoon \Pon*toon"\, n. [F. ponton (cf. It. pontone), from L. ponto, -onis, fr. pons, pontis, a bridge, perhaps originally, a way, path: cf. Gr. ? path, Skr. path, pathi, panthan. Cf. Punt a boat.]
- 1. (Mil.) A wooden flat-bottomed boat, a metallic cylinder, or a frame covered with canvas, India rubber, etc., forming a portable float, used in building bridges quickly for the passage of troops. [1913 Webster]
- 2. (Naut.) A low, flat vessel, resembling a barge, furnished with cranes, capstans, and other machinery, used in careening ships, raising weights, drawing piles, etc., chiefly in the Mediterranean; a lighter. [1913 Webster]
- Pontoon bridge, a bridge formed with pontoons.
- Pontoon train, the carriages of the pontoons, and the materials they carry for making a pontoon bridge. [1913 Webster]
- Note: The French spelling ponton often appears in scientific works, but pontoon is more common form. [1913 Webster]