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Pier vs Pontoon - What's the difference?

pier | pontoon |

As nouns the difference between pier and pontoon

is that pier is a raised platform built from the shore out over water, supported on piles; used to secure, or provide access to shipping; a jetty while pontoon is a flat-bottomed boat used as a support for a temporary bridge.

pier

English

(wikipedia pier)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A raised platform built from the shore out over water, supported on piles; used to secure, or provide access to shipping; a jetty.
  • A similar structure, especially at a seaside resort, used to provide entertainment.
  • (US, nautical) A structure that projects tangentially from the shoreline to accommodate ships; often double-sided.
  • A structure supporting the junction between two spans of a bridge.
  • (architecture) A rectangular pillar, or similar structure, that supports an arch, wall or roof.

    • Derived terms

    * abutment pier * pier glass * pierlike * pier table

    See also

    * jetty * mole * wharf

    Anagrams

    * * ----

    pontoon

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) ponton, from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (military) A flat-bottomed boat used as a support for a temporary bridge.
  • A floating structure supporting a bridge or dock.
  • A box used to raise a sunken vessel.
  • A float of a seaplane.
    • Synonyms
    * (floating structure used as a bridge) pontoon bridge

    Etymology 2

    Probably from .

    Noun

    (-)
  • (card games) A card game in which the object is to obtain cards whose value adds up to, or nearly to, 21 but not exceed it.
    • Synonyms
    * (card game) vingt-et-un

    See also

    * baccarat * blackjack * twenty-one