channelize

American  

[chan-l-ahyz] / ˈtʃæn lˌaɪz /

especially British, channelise

verb (used with or without object)

channelized, channelizing

1. to channel.

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channelize British  

/ ˈtʃænəlaɪz /

verb

1. (tr) to guide through or as if through a channel; provide a channel for

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Other Word Forms

• channelization noun
• nonchannelized adjective
• unchannelized adjective

Etymology

Origin of channelize

First recorded in 1600–10; channel ¹ + -ize

Example Sentences

Imagine streets and sidewalks with healthy tree canopies, permeable paving, and green infrastructure that captures rainwater for recharge or reuse, so it enters the water table instead of being directed to our channelized rivers.

From Los Angeles Times

We have channelized and leveed California’s rivers and then built homes and businesses in the floodplains, exposing them to costly damage.

From Los Angeles Times

Some of the gasoline flowed into Hill Ditch, a channelized portion of Bulson Creek, part of the Skagit River watershed.

From Seattle Times

Yet California squandered much of the bounty from its recent unusually wet winter, as levees, channelized rivers and paved cities funneled much of the runoff into the ocean rather than capturing it.

From Scientific American

Settlers drained and channelized the vast California delta and beyond.

From New York Times