Definition

Noun: A temporary, floating bridge supported by a series of pontoons (flat-bottomed boats or hollow cylinders). It is used to cross a body of water where a permanent bridge is not available.

Usage

A "pontoon bridge" is a specific type of temporary, military, or emergency bridge. It is constructed by placing boats or sealed floats (pontoons) side-by-side across a river or channel and then laying a roadway on top of them.

Examples

• The army engineers quickly constructed a pontoon bridge to allow the troops to cross the river.
• After the flood destroyed the main bridge, a temporary pontoon bridge provided a crucial link between the two towns.
• The historical reenactment included crossing a replica pontoon bridge.

Advanced Usage

• "to lay/throw a pontoon bridge": A phrase, often used in military contexts, describing the action of constructing such a bridge.
  • The general ordered his men to lay a pontoon bridge under cover of darkness.

Variants and Related Words

• Pontoon (noun): An individual flat-bottomed boat or float used as a support for a pontoon bridge or as a landing stage.
• Floating bridge (noun): A general synonym for a bridge that floats on the water's surface, of which a pontoon bridge is a common type.
• Bailey bridge (noun): Another type of portable, prefabricated truss bridge, often used in similar temporary situations but constructed differently (using a modular steel framework).

Synonyms

• Floating bridge
• Temporary bridge
• Military bridge (in context)

Related Phrases

• Bridge of boats: A historical or descriptive term for a pontoon bridge.
  • The ancient army crossed the river on a bridge of boats.

Noun

1. a temporary bridge built over a series of pontoons