Canal
Canals, or navigations, are human-made channels, or artificial waterways, for water conveyance, or to service water transport vehicles.
In most cases, the engineered works will have a series of dams and locks that create reservoirs of low speed current flow. These reservoirs are referred to as slack water levels, often just called levels.
A canal is also known as a navigation when it parallels a river and shares part of its waters and drainage basin, and leverages its resources by building dams and locks to increase and lengthen its stretches of slack water levels while staying in its valley.
In contrast, a canal cuts across a drainage divide atop a ridge, generally requiring an external water source above the highest elevation.
Many canals have been built at elevations towering over valleys and other water ways crossing far below.
Canals with sources of water at a higher level can deliver water to a destination such as a city where water is needed. The Roman Empire’s aqueducts were such water supply canals.
Canal (noun)
An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation.
Canal (noun)
A tubular channel within the body.
Canal (noun)
One of the faint, hazy markings resembling straight lines on early telescopic images of the surface of Mars.
Canal (verb)
To dig an artificial waterway in or to (a place), especially for drainage
Canal (verb)
To travel along a canal by boat
Channel (noun)
The physical confine of a river or slough, consisting of a bed and banks.
“The water coming out of the waterwheel created a standing wave in the channel.”
Channel (noun)
The natural or man-made deeper course through a reef, bar, bay, or any shallow body of water.
“A channel was dredged to allow ocean-going vessels to reach the city.”
Channel (noun)
The navigable part of a river.
“We were careful to keep our boat in the channel.”
Channel (noun)
A narrow body of water between two land masses.
“The English Channel lies between France and England.”
Channel (noun)
That through which anything passes; means of conveying or transmitting.
“The news was conveyed to us by different channels.”
Channel (noun)
A gutter; a groove, as in a fluted column.
Channel (noun)
A initiating and terminating nodes of a circuit.
“The guard-rail provided the channel between the downed wire and the tree.”
Channel (noun)
The narrow conducting portion of a MOSFET transistor.
Channel (noun)
The part that connects a data source to a data sink.
“A channel stretches between them.”
Channel (noun)
A path for conveying electrical or electromagnetic signals, usually distinguished from other parallel paths.
“We are using one of the 24 channels.”
Channel (noun)
A single path provided by a transmission medium via physical separation, such as by multipair cable.
“The channel is created by bonding the signals from these four pairs.”
Channel (noun)
A single path provided by a transmission medium via spectral or protocol separation, such as by frequency or time-division multiplexing.
“Their call is being carried on channel 6 of the T-1 line.”
Channel (noun)
A specific radio frequency or band of frequencies, usually in conjunction with a predetermined letter, number, or codeword, and allocated by international agreement.
“KNDD is the channel at 107.7 MHz in Seattle.”
Channel (noun)
A specific radio frequency or band of frequencies used for transmitting television.
“NBC is on channel 11 in San Jose.”
Channel (noun)
The portion of a storage medium, such as a track or a band, that is accessible to a given reading or writing station or head.
“This chip in this disk drive is the channel device.”
Channel (noun)
The way in a turbine pump where the pressure is built up.
“The liquid is pressurized in the lateral channel.”
Channel (noun)
A distribution channel
Channel (noun)
A particular area for conversations on an IRC network, analogous to a chatroom and often dedicated to a specific topic.
Channel (noun)
An obsolete means of delivering up-to-date Internet content.
Channel (noun)
A psychic or medium who temporarily takes on the personality of somebody else.
Channel (noun)
The wale of a sailing ship which projects beyond the gunwale and to which the shrouds attach via the chains. One of the flat ledges of heavy plank bolted edgewise to the outside of a vessel, to increase the spread of the shrouds and carry them clear of the bulwarks.
Channel (verb)
To make or cut a channel or groove in.
Channel (verb)
To direct or guide along a desired course.
“We will channel the traffic to the left with these cones.”
Channel (verb)
To serve as a medium for.
“She was channeling the spirit of her late husband, Seth.”
Channel (verb)
To follow as a model, especially in a performance.
“He was trying to channel President Reagan, but the audience wasn’t buying it.”
“When it is my turn to sing karaoke, I am going to channel Ray Charles.”
Canal (noun)
an artificial waterway constructed to allow the passage of boats or ships inland or to convey water for irrigation
“the Oxford Canal”
“they travelled on by canal”
Canal (noun)
a tubular duct in a plant or animal, serving to convey or contain food, liquid, or air
“the ear canal”
Canal (noun)
any of a number of linear markings formerly reported as seen by telescope on the planet Mars.
Channel (noun)
a length of water wider than a strait, joining two larger areas of water, especially two seas.
Channel (noun)
the English Channel
“the movement has spread across the Channel”
Channel (noun)
a navigable passage in a stretch of water otherwise unsafe for vessels
“buoys marked the safe limits of the channel”
Channel (noun)
a hollow bed for a natural or artificial waterway
“the river is confined in a narrow channel”
Channel (noun)
a band of frequencies used in radio and television transmission, especially as used by a particular station.
Channel (noun)
a service or station using a channel of frequencies
“a new television channel”
Channel (noun)
a method or system for communication or distribution
“some companies have a variety of sales channels”
“they didn’t apply through the proper channels”
Channel (noun)
an electric circuit which acts as a path for a signal
“an audio channel”
Channel (noun)
the semiconductor region in a field-effect transistor that forms the main current path between the source and the drain.
Channel (noun)
a tubular passage or duct for liquid
“fish eggs have a small channel called the micropyle”
Channel (verb)
direct towards a particular end or object
“the council is to channel public funds into training schemes”
Channel (verb)
cause to pass along or through a specified route or medium
“many countries channel their aid through charities”
Channel (verb)
(of a person) serve as a medium for (a spirit)
“she was channelling the spirit of Billie Holiday”
Channel (verb)
emulate or seem to be inspired by
“Meg Ryan plays Avery as if she’s channelling Nicole Kidman”
Channel (verb)
form channels or grooves in
“pottery with a distinctive channelled decoration”