canal

American  

[kuh-nal] / kəˈnæl /

noun

1. an artificial waterway for navigation, irrigation, etc.

2. a long narrow arm of the sea penetrating far inland.

3. a tubular passage or cavity for food, air, etc., especially in an animal or plant; a duct.

4. channel; watercourse.

5. Astronomy. one of the long, narrow, dark lines on the surface of the planet Mars, as seen telescopically from the earth.

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verb (used with object)

canalled, canaled, canalling, canaling

1. to make a canal through.

canal British  

/ kəˈnæl /

noun

1. an artificial waterway constructed for navigation, irrigation, water power, etc

2. any of various tubular passages or ducts

   the alimentary canal

3. any of various elongated intercellular spaces in plants

4. astronomy any of the indistinct surface features of Mars originally thought to be a network of channels but not seen on close-range photographs. They are caused by an optical illusion in which faint geological features appear to have a geometric structure

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verb

1. to dig a canal through

2. to provide with a canal or canals

Etymology

Origin of canal

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English: “waterpipe, tubular passage,” from Latin canālis, perhaps equivalent to can(na) “reed, pipe” ( cane ) + -ālis -al ¹; canal def. 5 a mistranslation of Italian canali “channels,” the term used by G. V. Schiaparelli

Example Sentences

In 1890, at Gravelines, just north of Calais, he painted four spare, gloriously luminous views that capture its canal’s sweeping vistas and endless skies, and all of them are here.

From The Wall Street Journal

That can mean someone needing two crowns, root canal work and three filings, for example, would generate the same number of points as someone needing just a single crown.

From BBC

In California, groundwater has rebounded in areas that obtained more water from canals or pipelines decades ago, including Santa Clara Valley, Livermore-Amador Valley, South Yuba Basin, Yucca Valley and parts of Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times

“It is a systemic shock that moves through the infrastructure of everyday life, from power plants to irrigation canals, and ultimately to food security.”

From The Wall Street Journal

HPV causes cells in the anal canal to grow abnormally and form tumours.

From BBC