A canal is a long, narrow stretch of water that has been made for boats to travel along or to bring water to a particular area.
...the Grand Union Canal.
...Venetian canals and bridges.
2. countable noun
A canal is a narrow tube inside your body for carrying food, air, or other substances.
...delaying the food's progress through the alimentary canal.
More Synonyms of canal
canal in British English
(kəˈnæl)
noun
1.
an artificial waterway constructed for navigation, irrigation, water power, etc
2.
any of various tubular passages or ducts
the alimentary canal
3.
any of various elongated intercellular spaces in plants
4. astronomy
any of the indistinct surface features of Mars originally thought to be a network of channels but not seen on close-range photographs. They are caused by an optical illusion in which faint geological features appear to have a geometric structure
verbWord forms: -nals, -nalling, -nalledWord forms: US-nals, -naling or -naled(transitive)
5.
to dig a canal through
6.
to provide with a canal or canals
Word origin
C15 (in the sense: pipe, tube): from Latin canālis channel, water pipe, from canna reed, cane1
canal in American English
(kəˈnæl)
noun
1.
an artificial waterway for transportation or irrigation
2.
a river artificially improved by locks, levees, etc. to permit navigation
3.
any of the long, narrow lines, visible from earth, on the planet Mars: once thought by some to be canals but now known to be optical illusions
4. Anatomy
any of various tubular passages or ducts
verb transitiveWord forms: caˈnalled or caˈnaled, caˈnalling or caˈnaling
5.
to build a canal through or across
Word origin
ME, pipe or tube < OFr < L canalis, pipe, groove, channel < canna, reed: see cane
Four lanes of canal with a street beneath it, an occasional car splashing by.
Jack Kerley THE HUNDREDTH MAN (2004)
In other languages
canal
British English: canal /kəˈnæl/ NOUN
A canal is a long, narrow, man-made stretch of water.
American English: canal
Arabic: قَنَاة
Brazilian Portuguese: canal de água
Chinese: 运河
Croatian: kanal
Czech: průplav
Danish: kanal
Dutch: kanaal vaart
European Spanish: canal cauce
Finnish: kanava vesiväylä
French: canal
German: Kanal
Greek: κανάλι
Italian: canale
Japanese: 運河
Korean: 운하
Norwegian: kanal
Polish: kanał wodny
European Portuguese: canal de água
Romanian: canal
Russian: канал
Latin American Spanish: canal
Swedish: kanal vattendrag
Thai: คลอง
Turkish: kanal
Ukrainian: канал
Vietnamese: con kênh
All related terms of 'canal'
canal ray
a stream of positive ions produced in a discharge tube by allowing them to pass through holes in the cathode
ear canal
Your ear canal is the tube that opens in your outer ear and leads inside your ear.
anal canal
the terminal part of the rectum forming the passage to the anus
birth canal
the passageway down which the fetus passes during birth
canal barge
a long narrow boat used on canals , esp for carrying freight
canal boat
A canal boat is a long, narrow boat used for travelling on canals.
canal rays
rays of positive ions passing through openings in the cathode of a vacuum tube
Canal Zone
a former administrative region of the US, on the Isthmus of Panama around the Panama Canal : bordered on each side by the Republic of Panama, into which it was incorporated in 1979
Erie Canal
a canal in New York State between Albany and Buffalo , linking the Hudson River with Lake Erie . Length: 579 km (360 miles)
Grand Canal
a canal in E China , extending north from Hangzhou to Tianjin : the longest canal in China, now partly silted up; central section , linking the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers , finished in 486 bc ; north section finished by Kublai Khan between 1282 and 1292. Length: about 1600 km (1000 miles)
Kiel Canal
canal in N Germany , connecting the North Sea & the Baltic Sea: 61 mi (98 km)
resin canal
a tubular , intercellular opening containing resin , often found in the wood and needles of gymnosperms
root canal
the passage in the root of a tooth through which its nerves and blood vessels enter the pulp cavity
ship canal
a canal constructed to carry ocean-going ships
Suez Canal
a sea-level canal in NE Egypt , crossing the Isthmus of Suez and linking the Mediterranean with the Red Sea: built (1854–69) by de Lesseps with French and Egyptian capital; nationalized in 1956 by the Egyptians. Length: 163 km (101 miles)
Albert Canal
ship canal in Belgium, from Li è ge to Antwerp : 81 mi (131 km)
Corinth Canal
a ship canal connecting the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf across the Isthmus of Corinth
Panama Canal
a canal across the Isthmus of Panama , linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans : extends from Col ón on the Caribbean Sea southeast to Balboa on the Gulf of Panama; built by the US (1904–14), after an unsuccessful previous attempt (1880–89) by the French under de Lesseps . Length: 64 km (40 miles)
spinal canal
the natural passage through the centre of the spinal column that contains the spinal cord
Welland Canal
a canal in S Canada, in Ontario , linking Lake Erie to Lake Ontario: part of the St Lawrence Seaway , with eight locks . Length: 44 km (28 miles)
Haversian canal
any of the channels that form a network in bone and contain blood vessels and nerves
medullary canal
the central area of a bone, containing marrow
alimentary canal
The alimentary canal in a person or animal is the passage in their body through which food passes from their mouth to their anus.
Caledonian Canal
a canal in N Scotland, linking the Atlantic with the North Sea through the Great Glen : built 1803–47; now used mostly for leisure boating
Canal du Midi
a canal in S France, extending from the River Garonne at Toulouse to the Mediterranean at Sè te and providing a link between the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts: built between 1666 and 1681. Length: 181 km (150 miles)
Mittelland Canal
a canal in Germany, linking the Rivers Rhine and Elbe . Length: 325 km (202 miles)
semicircular canal
any of the three looped fluid-filled membranous tubes , at right angles to one another, that comprise the labyrinth of the ear : concerned with the sense of orientation and equilibrium
Grand Union Canal
a canal in S England linking London and the Midlands : opened in 1801
Houston Ship Canal
→ the Houston Ship Canal
Panama Canal Zone
→ Canal Zone
root-canal therapy
a procedure , used for treating an abscess at the tip of the root of a tooth , in which the pulp is removed and a filling ( root filling ) inserted in the root canal
root-canal work
a procedure , used for treating an abscess at the tip of the root of a tooth , in which the pulp is removed and a filling ( root filling ) inserted in the root canal
Welland Ship Canal
canal of the St. Lawrence Seaway , in Ontario , Canada between Lake Ontario & Lake Erie : 27.5 mi (44 km) long
canalboat
a long narrow boat used on canals , esp for carrying freight
root canal treatment
a procedure , used for treating an abscess at the tip of the root of a tooth , in which the pulp is removed and a filling (root filling) inserted in the root canal
the Houston Ship Canal
a canal linking Houston to the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
New York State Barge Canal
a system of inland waterways in New York State, connecting the Hudson River with Lakes Erie and Ontario and, via Lake Champlain , with the St Lawrence . Length : 845 km (525 miles)
New York State Canal System
system of waterways connecting Lake Erie & the Hudson River, with branches to lakes Ontario, Champlain , Cayuga , & Seneca : 524 mi (843 km)
root treatment
a procedure , used for treating an abscess at the tip of the root of a tooth , in which the pulp is removed and a filling ( root filling ) inserted in the root canal
Chinese translation of 'canal'
canal
(kəˈnæl)
n(c)
(for ships, barges) 运(運)河 (yùnhé) (条(條), tiáo)
(for irrigation) 水渠 (shuǐqú)
(Anat) 管 (guǎn)
(noun)
Definition
an artificial waterway constructed for navigation or irrigation
A blockage of the canal could severely affect international shipping.
Synonyms
waterway
channel
Oil spilled into the channel following a collision between a tanker and a trawler.
passage
cells that line the air passages
conduit
He saw that the conduit was choked with rubbish.
duct
a big air duct in the ceiling
watercourse
subject word lists
See Canals
Additional synonyms
in the sense of channel
Definition
a navigable course through an area of water
Oil spilled into the channel following a collision between a tanker and a trawler.
Synonyms
strait,
sound,
route,
passage,
canal,
waterway,
main
in the sense of conduit
Definition
a channel or tube for carrying a fluid or electrical cables
He saw that the conduit was choked with rubbish.
Synonyms
passage,
channel,
tube,
pipe,
canal,
duct,
main
in the sense of duct
Definition
a tube, pipe, or channel through which liquid or gas is sent