canal

1 of 2

noun

ca·​nal kə-ˈnal 

1

: a tubular anatomical passage or channel : duct

2

: channel, watercourse

3

: an artificial waterway for navigation or for draining or irrigating land

4

: any of various faint narrow lines on the planet Mars seen through telescopes and once thought by some to be canals built by Martians

canal

2 of 2

verb

canalled or canaled; canalling or canaling

transitive verb

: to construct a canal through or across

Synonyms

Noun

• aqueduct
• waterway

Examples of canal in a Sentence

Noun

the Panama Canal opened a much easier and shorter passageway from the Atlantic to the Pacific

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Luxurious accommodations include 182 guestrooms, suites and villas are tucked discreetly across 60 acres of mangroves and freshwater canals, balancing seclusion with a strong sense of rooted place. —Roger Sands, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025

Two tourists were fined and ordered to leave Venice after illegally swimming in the city's canals. —Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2025

Swimming in the Venice canals is prohibited for a variety of reasons, including the intense boat traffic and the cleanliness — or lack thereof — of the water, according to the city’s tourism ministry. —Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2025

The issue wasn’t settled until 1965, when NASA’s Mariner 4 spacecraft flew past Mars and saw no canals. —David W. Brown, New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Latin canalis pipe, channel, from canna reed — more at cane

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1792, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing canal

• alimentary canal
• birth canal
• ear canal
• haversian canal
• resin canal
• root canal
• semicircular canal
• spinal canal
• stone canal
• vertebral canal

Rhymes for canal

• chorale
• corral
• ghazal
• locale
• morale
• royale
• bal
• dal
• gal
• mal
• pal
• sal

Kids Definition

canal

noun

ca·​nal

kə-ˈnal

1

: a tube-shaped bodily passage or channel : duct

2

: an artificial waterway for boats or for draining or irrigating land

3

: any of various faint narrow lines on the planet Mars seen through telescopes and formerly thought to be canals built by Martians

Medical Definition

canal

noun

ca·​nal kə-ˈnal 

: a tubular anatomical passage or channel : duct see alimentary canal, Haversian canal, inguinal canal