1. A flat-bottomed boat or floating structure used to support a bridge, dock, or other construction.
Usage: Also spelled pontoon; ponton is less common in modern U.S. English but remains standard in British and technical usage.
2. A bridge or roadway supported by floating pontoons or similar structures.
Usage: Often used in military or temporary bridge contexts.

Examples

• The engineers assembled a ponton bridge across the river to allow troops to cross.
• The dock was built on wooden pontons that rise and fall with the tide.
• During the flood, emergency crews deployed a temporary ponton to reconnect the divided communities.
• The barge rested on steel pontons anchored to the riverbed.
• Military units trained to construct ponton bridges in rapid-deployment scenarios.