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• channel
  channel

  noun

  the bed of a stream, river, or other waterway.
• Channel
  Channel

  noun

  short for English Channel

channel

¹ American  

[chan-l] / ˈtʃæn l /

noun

1. the bed of a stream, river, or other waterway.

2. Nautical. a navigable route between two bodies of water.

3. the deeper part of a waterway.

4. a wide strait, as between a continent and an island.

5. a course into which something may be directed.

   He hoped to direct the conversation to a new channel.

6. a route through which anything passes or progresses.

   channels of trade.

7. channels, the specific, prescribed, or official course or means of communication.

   In an emergency he was able to reach the governor without going through channels.

8. a groove or furrow.

   Synonyms:

   cut, rut, groove, furrow, trough, trench

9. a means of access.

   He considers the Senate a channel to the White House.

10. Architecture.

    1. a flute in a column, especially one having no fillet between it and other flutes.

    2. any of the prominent vertical grooves in a triglyph.

11. (in jazz or popular music) a bridge.

12. Telecommunications. a frequency band of sufficient width for one- or two-way communication from or to a transmitter used for television, radio, CB radio, telephone, or telegraph communication.

13. Computers. a path for the transfer of signals or data within a computer or between a computer and its peripheral equipment.

14. Digital Technology.

    1. feed.

       Learn how to create your own web channel.

    2. a web page or website that distributes frequently updated content by means of a feed.

       Subscribe to my YouTube channel.

15. either of the two signals in stereophonic or any single signal in multichannel sound recording and reproduction.

16. Cell Biology. a transient opening made by a protein embedded in a cell membrane, permitting passage of specific ions or molecules into or out of the cell.

    calcium channel.

17. a tubular passage for liquids or fluids.

18. Building Trades.

    1. any structural member, as one of reinforced concrete, having the form of three sides of a rectangle.

    2. a number of such members.

       channel in 100-foot lengths.

    3. channel iron.

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verb (used with object)

• channels,
  present (3rd person singular)
• channeled,
  past participle,  past
• channelled,
  past participle,  past (especially British)
• channeling,
  present participle
• channelling
  present participle (especially British)

1. to convey through or as through a channel.

   He channeled the information to us.

   Synonyms:

   focus, direct, concentrate, steer, route, conduct, pipe, funnel, transport, convey, carry

2. to direct toward or into some particular course.

   to channel one's interests.

3. to excavate as a channel.

4. to form a channel in; groove.

5. to professedly reach or convey messages from (a spiritual guide) by entering a meditative or trancelike state.

6. to imitate the ideas, appearance, etc., of (a person or thing that is admired).

   At times he seems to be channeling the late Michael Jackson’s vocal stylings.

verb (used without object)

• channels,
  present (3rd person singular)
• channeled,
  past participle,  past
• channelled,
  past participle,  past (especially British)
• channeling,
  present participle
• channelling
  present participle (especially British)

1. to become marked by a channel.

   Soft earth has a tendency to channel during a heavy rain.

channel ² American  

[chan-l] / ˈtʃæn l /

Also chain wale,

noun

1. a horizontal timber or ledge built outboard from the side of a sailing vessel to spread shrouds and backstays outward.

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channel ¹ British  

/ ˈtʃænəl /

noun

1. a broad strait connecting two areas of sea

2. the bed or course of a river, stream, or canal

3. a navigable course through a body of water

4. (often plural) a means or agency of access, communication, etc

   to go through official channels

5. a course into which something can be directed or moved

   a new channel of thought

6. electronics

   1. a band of radio frequencies assigned for a particular purpose, esp the broadcasting of a television signal

   2. a path for an electromagnetic signal

      a stereo set has two channels

   3. a thin semiconductor layer between the source and drain of a field-effect transistor, the conductance of which is controlled by the gate voltage

7. a tubular or trough-shaped passage for fluids

8. a groove or flute, as in the shaft of a column

9. computing

   1. a path along which data can be transmitted between a central processing unit and one or more peripheral devices

   2. one of the lines along the length of a paper tape on which information can be stored in the form of punched holes

10. short for channel iron

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verb

1. to provide or be provided with a channel or channels; make or cut channels in (something)

2. (tr) to guide into or convey through a channel or channels

   information was channelled through to them

3. to serve as a medium through whom the spirit of (a person of a former age) allegedly communicates with the living

4. (tr) to exhibit the traits of (another person) in one’s actions

5. (tr) to form a groove or flute in (a column, etc)

Channel ² British  

/ ˈtʃænəl /

noun

1. short for English Channel

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channel ³ British  

/ ˈtʃænəl /

noun

1. nautical a flat timber or metal ledge projecting from the hull of a vessel above the chainplates to increase the angle of the shrouds

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channel Scientific  

/ chăn′əl /

1. A specified frequency band for the transmission and reception of electromagnetic signals, as for television signals.

2. The part of a field effect transistor, usually U-shaped, through which current flows from the source to the drain.

3. See more at field effect transistor

4. A pathway through a protein molecule in a cell membrane that modulates the electrical potential across the membrane by controlling the passage of small inorganic ions into and out of the cell.

5. The bed or deepest part of a river or harbor.

6. A large strait, especially one that connects two seas.

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channel Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing channel

• go through channels

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• channeler
  noun
• channeller
  noun
• multichanneled
  adjective
• multichannelled
  adjective
• nonchanneled
  adjective
• unchanneled
  adjective
• unchannelled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• channeling
  present
• channelling
  present
• channeled
  past
• channelled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• channel
  simple
• channels
  simple
• have channeled
  perfect
• have channelled
  perfect
• has channeled
  perfect
• has channelled
  perfect
• am channeling
  progressive
• am channelling
  progressive
• are channeling
  progressive
• are channelling
  progressive
• is channeling
  progressive
• is channelling
  progressive
• have been channeling
  perfect progressive
• have been channelling
  perfect progressive
• has been channeling
  perfect progressive
• has been channelling
  perfect progressive

Past

• channeled
  simple
• channelled
  simple
• had channeled
  perfect
• had channelled
  perfect
• was channeling
  progressive
• was channelling
  progressive
• were channeling
  progressive
• were channelling
  progressive
• had been channeling
  perfect progressive
• had been channelling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will channel
  simple
• will have channeled
  perfect
• will have channelled
  perfect
• will be channeling
  progressive
• will be channelling
  progressive
• will have been channeling
  perfect progressive
• will have been channelling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of channel¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English chanel, can(n)el, from Old French chanel, canel, from Latin canālis “waterpipe, conduit”; see canal

Origin of channel²

First recorded in 1760–70; variant of chain wale

Explanation

A channel is a passageway, a means of access for a thing, a communication, or an idea. Think of a channel as sort of a tunnel or a funnel that moves something directly through. The noun channel can be used for many such avenues. It can mean a waterway such as the English Channel — the "Chunnel" is a tunnel beneath the Channel — or a means of accomplishing a goal, as in "going through legal channels." Use it as a verb when you channel your energies to achieve success.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

channel Channel channels channeled channelled channeling channelling

Indeed, Haaland has almost 20 million more Instagram followers than his club Manchester City and, as mentioned, his own YouTube channel.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

For more than a decade, Cox has refused to carry the channel, owned by the Dodgers organization, because of its high license fee — leading to one of the television industry’s longest blackouts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

A Globe and Mail editorial in May described Hoekstra as being "keen to channel his boss’s aggressive boorishness."

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

“It is going to become just another body of water,” he told a news channel in Arizona.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Then there’s a channel entirely in Spanish playing what is surely a sappy soap opera.

From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone

The proposed fracking plan would quadruple production on an aging offshore platform in the Santa Barbara Channel.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Anchors at Oakland’s KTVU-TV Channel 2 news station said they felt a jolt while on air.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Find insight on oil futures, E.ON, Channel Infrastructure and more in the latest Market Talks covering energy and utilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

In Guernsey, Dr Jean Dean, from La Société Guernesiaise's astronomy section, advised people to head to the west coast of the Channel Island to enjoy the spectacle.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

It is in Bournemouth, on the southern coast of England, just a few minutes walk from the sea of the English Channel.

From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall

Many prominent players now share regular updates from their lives on their own YouTube channels - from Haaland, to Ronaldo, Jude Bellingham and Lionesses' star Ella Toone.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

"Players are becoming their own distribution levers, with some in particular taking a driving seat in terms of 'how I project myself onto the world' and building their own channels and audience," explains Kyle.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

In the longer term, Germany needs to dredge deeper navigation channels and develop a new class of low-draft ships, argued Bilger, a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

The Swiss running-shoe maker now expects sales to grow in the low-20% range for the year after it deliberately stymied growth across its wholesale channels during the latest quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

By Tuesday the news channels were reporting that things were largely under control.

From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English

With commercial tourism, social media and vlogging much of today’s world feels overexposed and overexplained, with seemingly every destination photographed, every experience reviewed and all hidden gems channeled into content.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026

Why are songwriters so eager to say, “I channeled this — it just came through me”? Because it’s the truth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

She has channeled that into art, writing the evocative and hilarious tween comedy PEN15.

From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2026

Remittances from Cubans abroad, a lifeline for many, will no longer be channeled exclusively through the state, and money changers will also be allowed operate privately.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

Moss had always heard a lot about the fight-or-flight instinct, but he had never experienced it; his mind had always channeled fear into stillness.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

Whether it's leather that's pre-cut in China or stitching that's done in Vietnam, these materials and expertise are almost certainly channelled into the region's black market.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim intends to discuss "ensuring that oil supplies can continue to be channelled" to Malaysia, the country's national news agency reported.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

Anger at the exam mishandling has been channelled by the newly-founded satirical "Cockroach People's Party", which has won millions of followers on social media since its launch in May.

From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026

Their name is an anagram of the phrase "I'm Fearless", and those early songs channelled the girl group trope of combative, bulletproof confidence.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

The fear in her voice channelled perfectly with the charmspeak.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

The teenager behind the kit is locked into “Driven to Tears,” the Police’s reggae-charged protest song, channeling its sharp, syncopated beats with controlled fury.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

The Black Sea, with its trade routes channeling both Russian and Ukrainian exports through the Bosporus to the rest of the world, has been a critical lever in the war before.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

While Mr. Richman’s vocals retained punk’s nasal, monochromatic tone, his songs were dorky and witty, channeling Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent and Freddie and the Dreamers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

A New York Times reviewer noted that the authors seemed to be channeling “a few elite finance and tech bros in two or three coastal cities.”

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

Qendrim’s knee was still throbbing, but channeling the toughness he’d learned from his professional-soccer-playing grandfather, Qendrim told Luma he was ready to go back in.

From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John

"I'm an angel, I'm a demon, I'm a psycho for no reason," she sings, channelling my cat's personality over a drum sound that could shatter windows.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

The condition was that he must enrol in either tennis, badminton or fencing as a means of channelling focus.

From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026

He has staked his leadership on aggressive reforms that aim to deliver double-digit growth, slashing bureaucratic red tape, empowering the private sector and channelling vast resources into mega-projects.

From Barron's ● Apr. 8, 2026

The claimant repeated the phrase multiple times, with tribunal Judge Vincent Ryan accepting that he was "effectively channelling the musical vibe".

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2025

Everywhere exclusiveness, a narrow channelling of impulse and energy.

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

Related Words

• avenue
• carrier
• means
• medium
• route
• tunnel