Skip to main content
canal

canal

124 2.0
A man-made water channel for boats and for watering fields
  • noun
  • /kəˈnæl/
: canal
  • I saw them pull you out of the canal!
  • irrigation canal
  • build a canal
  • railroads and canals

We're going to explore the canals of Miami, FL.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • The new canal will allow boats to travel more quickly between the two cities.

  • The Pena's irrigation canals ran dry and the land died.

  • And of course, this was a time of massive canal building here on Earth.

  • I see that the canal is an essential British interest.

  • "Since there is no water anymore in the canal, they now have to look for other sources.

    Academic text (2017)
  • This is along the Erie Canal in the western part of the state.

  • At times I'd remind my uncle about the canal along his old apartment in Venice.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • We've just come sit by the canal, eat our pastries.

  • We're going to explore the canals of Miami, FL.

  • My greatest pleasure was to float on the canal in Uncle Necio's rowboat.

    Fiction book (1993)

Synonyms

channel
vscanal
71 3.8

A deep narrow waterway that ships can use

is always built by people to let boats pass or to carry irrigation
waterway
vscanal
37 2.3

A river, canal, or channel that boats use to travel

is always constructed by people rather than occurring naturally
watercourse
vscanal
1 4.8

A channel, natural or man-made, where water flows like a river

is built mainly to allow boats to pass or to carry irrigation water

Compounds

root canal
  • Specialized
23 3.5

A channel inside a tooth root that has nerves and blood vessels

13 2.5

A man-made waterway in Panama that lets ships travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

birth canal
  • Specialized
10 3.5

A passage from a mother's womb through the vagina that a baby passes during childbirth

7 3.5

A ship canal in northeast Egypt that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea

ear canal
  • Specialized
4 3.4

A narrow tube in the outer ear that leads to the eardrum

3 4.0

A large S-shaped waterway that runs through Venice and is lined with old buildings

2 3.8

A man-made waterway in New York that connects the Hudson River and Lake Erie

2 7.2

A strip of land across Panama with the Panama Canal that the United States once ran

spinal canal
  • Specialized
2 4.0

A passage through the spine that contains the spinal cord

A strip of land across Panama that included the Panama Canal and was controlled by the United States until 1979

auditory canal
  • Specialized
1 4.9

A tube in the outer ear that leads to the eardrum

alimentary canal
  • Specialized
1 4.0

A long tube that runs from the mouth to the anus and carries food during digestion

1 3.7

A canal wide and deep enough for large ships to pass through

1 3.2

A long narrow boat that carries people or goods on canals

Haversian canal
  • Specialized
1 7.5

A small channel in bone that contains blood vessels and soft tissue

1 4.8

A long waterway in eastern China built to move goods and water

canal of Schlemm
  • Specialized
1 7.8

Circular channel in the eye that drains fluid into veins to keep eye pressure normal

A canal in southeast Massachusetts that lets ships cross the base of Cape Cod

Schlemm's canal
  • Specialized
1 9.2

A small circular channel in the eye that drains fluid from the front of the eye into nearby veins

semicircular canal
  • Specialized
1 6.1

A curved tube in the inner ear that helps you keep balance when your head turns

vertebral canal
  • Specialized
1 7.2

A passage formed by the bones of the spine that holds the spinal cord

cervical canal
  • Specialized
1 6.6

A narrow tube inside the lower part of the womb that connects to the vagina

A system of canals across New York State that links the Great Lakes with the Hudson River and Lake Champlain

A canal in northern Scotland that connects the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean

1 5.3

A tube in the outer ear that leads to the eardrum

A system of canals in New York State that links the Great Lakes, the Hudson River and Lake Champlain

1 6.8

A canal in Sweden that connects the Baltic Sea with Lake Vänern so small ships can cross the country

A canal in southern Florida that links Lake Okeechobee to the Caloosahatchee River

inguinal canal
  • Specialized
8.1

A narrow passage in the lower belly that lets the testicles or a band of tissue pass through

How Big

aqueduct
16 6.3
channel
71 3.8
canal
124 2.0
sluice
6 7.0
ditch
131 1.0

Surface Forms

canal singular
canals plural

Etymology

Canal comes from the Latin canalis, which means 'pipe' or 'channel', the same idea you see in the English word channel, so a canal is an artificial 'channel' that carries water and lets boats pass.