canal

American  

[kuh-nal] / kəˈnæl /

noun

• canals
  plural

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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• canals
  plural

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” ( see cane) + -ālis -al ¹; canal def. 5 a mistranslation of Italian canali “channels,” the term used by G. V. Schiaparelli

Explanation

A canal is a long, man-made strip of water used for irrigation or boat access to a bigger body of water, like the famous Erie Canal, which connects the Hudson River to Lake Erie. Canal is related to the word channel, and all its different shades of meaning have to do with tunnel shaped spaces that carry liquid from one place to another. Besides man-made irrigation canals, canals that connect boat docks to rivers and oceans, or street-like canals in boat cities like Amsterdam, there are canals in your body, like your nasal canal, or the birth canal you came out of. It's also a verb meaning "to dig a canal."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

canal canals canaled canalled canalling

The canal operator said that "lower than forecast rainfall in the canal's watershed" called for measures to bolster the "long-term sustainability" of the waterway.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

Police have confirmed a suspicious item which led to road closures around a canal in Retford was a replica grenade.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

He basically started with his emergence from the birth canal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

The canal is the third waterway to be subjected to conditions that are curtailing global shipping.

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026

She had absentmindedly let the crowd carry her along like a current, and they had pulled her away from the main canal, onto a narrow street.

From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat

In June, Ferrari warned that too many people were trying to cool off in rivers and canals without necessarily taking the risks into account.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Some ships linked to the Russian government also sail from the Caspian via rivers and canals to the Black Sea where they can transit onward to other ports elsewhere in the world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

France's sports minister said too many people were trying to cool off in rivers and canals without necessarily taking the risks into account.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

If you’ve ever fancied a gondola ride through Venice’s famous canals, now might be the time—many Americans have already grasped the opportunity this summer.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

He commissioned the construction of a fire boat, the Fire Queen, built specifically to negotiate the park’s shallow canals and to pass under its many low bridges.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

The warmth at his heart annulled whatever of chill stole in at the grayness of the canaled streets of the northern city after the color and glow of Porto.

From Dreamers of the Ghetto by Israel Zangwill

Hindu temples, for the many Guyanese descended from laborers from the Indian subcontinent, dot Georgetown’s canalled streets.

From New York Times ● May 9, 2010

And he should never be blocked in: he should at most be canalled.

From The Invisible Censor by Francis Hackett

We had a good deal of difficulty at first in our canalling, especially in meeting and passing vessels.

From A Century of Sail and Steam on the Niagara River by Barlow Cumberland

When I got old enough, and had money enough, I was determined to go west and seek my fortune; for I always felt that canalling was, somehow, beneath what I wanted to do and become.

From Vandemark's Folly by Herbert Quick

The stern part was taken down the long upper level by a small tug, but teams were employed in towing for all the remaining portions of the canalling.

From A Century of Sail and Steam on the Niagara River by Barlow Cumberland

The system of canalling is a system of slack-water navigation, but abhors stagnant water.

From Mexico and its Religion With Incidents of Travel in That Country During Parts of the Years 1851-52-53-54, and Historical Notices of Events Connected With Places Visited by Robert A. Wilson

Indeed, I never can believe I am at sea at all, on the Atlantic, the passages between New-York and Portsmouth being little more than so much canalling along a tow-path.

From Home as Found by James Fenimore Cooper