canal

noun

ca·nal | \ kə-ˈnal

Definition of canal

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

verb

canalled or canaled; canalling or canaling

Definition of canal (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to construct a canal through or across

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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

Tour the historic hacienda with a personal guide, then snorkel and float on the canal that connects the two cenotes. — National Geographic, "Visit these breathtaking underwater caves in the Yucatán Peninsula," 31 May 2019 On a recent Monday afternoon, a handful of young artists took turns highlighting Goodings’ facial features and boat on the canal. — Susan Demar Lafferty, Daily Southtown, "Community helps 'unLock' history of city in painting a mural," 13 June 2018 Police said Huizenga was impaired while trying to dock at the wrong house on a Fort Lauderdale canal. — Juan Ortega, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Huizenga's son arrested, accused of drunken boating," 4 May 2018 He was caught on July because a 79-year-old home caretaker, Fernando Carreira, was making routine rounds with his wife, Luz Rodriguez, and visited a blue houseboat on the Indian Creek canal — the same blue houseboat in which Cunanan was hiding. — refinery29.com, "How Did The Police Track Down Andrew Cunanan?," 22 Mar. 2018 Some 80 cars were damaged or destroyed when tides breached a levee on a canal connecting the harbor to the Annisquam River, sending sea water racing across hundreds of yards of athletic fields. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, "It’s no walk on the beach for coastal areas," 13 Mar. 2018 The oil and gas industry has carved up coastal marshes with more than 10,000 miles of canals. — Tristan Baurick, nola.com, "The River’s Revenge: The Mississippi remains critical to our prosperity, but hostile to attempts to control it," 15 June 2019 The answer may involve the plasmodesmata, networks of microscopic canals that extend through plant cell walls and allow adjacent cells to share other proteins. — Quanta Magazine, "Viruses Can Scatter Their Genes Among Cells and Reassemble," 21 May 2019 From the 12th to 18th centuries, the Venetians controlled a large trading empire—including parts of Greece—from their city-state of canals and lagoons. — Dagmar Schwell, National Geographic, "Historical journey: Discover the architectural legacy of Venice," 8 May 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'canal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

15 Jul 2019

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The first known use of canal was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for canal

canal

noun

English Language Learners Definition of canal

: a long narrow place that is filled with water and was created by people so that boats could pass through it or to supply fields, crops, etc., with water

medical : a tube or passageway in the body

See the full definition for canal in the English Language Learners Dictionary

canal

noun

ca·nal | \ kə-ˈnal