English Channel

American  

noun

1. an arm of the Atlantic Ocean between southern England and northern France, connected with the North Sea by the Strait of Dover. 350 miles (565 kilometers) long; 20–100 miles (32–160 kilometers) wide.

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English Channel British  

noun

1. French name: La Manche.  an arm of the Atlantic Ocean between S England and N France, linked with the North Sea by the Strait of Dover. Length: about 560 km (350 miles). Width: between 32 km (20 miles) and 161 km (100 miles)

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English Channel Cultural  

1. Arm of the Atlantic Ocean between France and Britain.

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Discover More

A tunnel under the channel connects England and France via auto-carrying train service.

Its cold, choppy waters have been a popular challenge for long-distance swimmers.

A formation of high bluffs on the British side of the English Channel is known as the White Cliffs of Dover.

Example Sentences

Between 1 January and 3 June 2026, a total of 9,142 people crossed the English Channel by small boat to the UK from France.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026

Since 2018, more than 200,000 people have reached the UK by crossing the English Channel in a small boat.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

Within hours of carrying the first telegram across the English Channel in 1850, the earliest “submarine telegraph”—27 miles of copper wire wrapped in a rubbery substance called gutta percha—was broken by a fishing trawler.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

And not only central Europe – they also spread across the English Channel and throughout Britain, extending as far north as Orkney.

From Science Daily • May 30, 2026

Submarines appear in the English Channel, in green.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood