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Synonyms

portage

1 American  
[pawr-tij, pohr-, pawr-tahzh] / ˈpɔr tɪdʒ, ˈpoʊr-, pɔrˈtɑʒ /

noun

  1. the act of carrying; carriage.

  2. the carrying of boats, goods, etc., overland from one navigable water to another.

  3. the route over which this is done.

  4. the cost of carriage.

verb (used without object)

portaged, portaging

  1. to make a portage.

    On this stretch of the river, we have to portage for a mile.

verb (used with object)

portaged, portaging

  1. to carry (something) over a portage; make a portage with.

    We portaged our canoe around the rapids.

Portage 2 American  
[pawr-tij, pohr-] / ˈpɔr tɪdʒ, ˈpoʊr- /

noun

  1. a city in SW Michigan.

  2. a town in NW Indiana.

portage British  
/ pɔrtaʒ, ˈpɔːtɪdʒ /

noun

  1. the act of carrying; transport

  2. the cost of carrying or transporting

  3. the act or process of transporting boats, supplies, etc, overland between navigable waterways

  4. the route overland used for such transport

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to transport (boats, supplies, etc) overland between navigable waterways

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of portage

1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle French; port 5, -age

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Exploiting a series of portages linking Lake Michigan and local rivers, they paddled their canoes from Canada’s Atlantic shore to the Gulf of Mexico and as far west as the Rocky Mountains.

From The Wall Street Journal

Yates said he came up with the idea of a marathon portage to raise awareness about the lack of water in this part of the river, and invited several friends and acquaintances to join him.

From Los Angeles Times

Superior National Forest officials had closed trails, campsites, portages and bodies of water in the area, to assist in the search.

From Seattle Times

This was an important historical spot for the Coast Salish peoples as a canoe portage between Lake Washington and Lake Union, before the Montlake Cut was dug to unite the two water bodies.

From Seattle Times

“With a barge, if you have a closure at a lock and dam it is not like canoeing or kayaking where you can portage around the obstacle. River transit will close,” he said.

From Seattle Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.