runnel

[ ruhn-l ]

/ ˈrʌn l /

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noun

a small stream; brook; rivulet.

a small channel, as for water.

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Also run·let

[ruhn-lit]. /ˈrʌn lɪt/.

Origin of runnel

First recorded in 1570–80; run (in the sense “small stream”) + -el diminutive suffix

Words nearby runnel

run its course, Runjeet Singh, runless, runlet, run like clockwork, runnel, runner, runner bean, runner foot, runner's high, runner-up

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use runnel in a sentence

Clear water trickled through a wooden runnel into a great stone trough outside near the door.
The White Peacock|D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence
Thus it is possible that a runnel of the blood of "le grand monarque" tripped through Burton's veins.
The Life of Sir Richard Burton|Thomas Wright
It took me the whole day to reach the patch,—which I found indeed a forest—but not a rudiment of brook or runnel had I crossed!
Lilith|George MacDonald
Peebles had disappeared; Dake lay in his rags on the ground; Runnel rocked slowly, like a pendulum, in his ceaseless pain.
The Happy End|Joseph Hergesheimer

And I stood on the curb watching the iridescent ooze of the sewage in a runnel of the street seep along like a sick snake.
Children of the Market Place|Edgar Lee Masters

British Dictionary definitions for runnel

runnel

/ (ˈrʌnəl) /

noun

literary a small stream

Word Origin for runnel

C16: from Old English rynele; related to run

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

runnel

Origin of runnel

Words nearby runnel

Words related to runnel

How to use runnel in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for runnel

Word Origin for runnel