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

He invites the reader to let the earth tones fade and let the blue—oceans, rivers, lakes and canals—come into clearer focus.

From The Wall Street Journal

A successful root canal may provide benefits that extend beyond saving a tooth.

From Science Daily

For the last game of the season, a large group gathered by the canal to watch the game from outside the stadium as Partick won League One.

From BBC

Unlike cargo moving from the Atlantic Basin or the Middle East, Alaska LNG doesn’t transit through the Panama Canal and thus doesn’t face canal congestion, water-level restrictions or geopolitical turmoil during passage.

From The Wall Street Journal

As such, gas tankers from the US that had been bound for Europe are now doing Atlantic U-turns and heading for the Panama canal to deliver to Asia instead.

From BBC