Synonyms of canals

canals

noun

plural of canal

as in aqueducts

an open man-made passageway for water

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• aqueducts
• waterways
• watercourses
• rivers
• conduits
• flumes
• raceways
• channels
• racecourses
• gutters
• courses
• sluices
• spillways
• sluiceways
• streams
• floodways
• torrents
• rivulets
• millraces
• troughs
• millstreams
• swashes
• tideways

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of canals

An area of canals and former industrial warehouses hosts an arts center. — Lauren Frayer, NPR, 9 July 2026

Rising sea levels push salt water inland through rivers, canals and shallow groundwater; storm surges cause embankments to collapse, allowing water to seep into soils, rivers and groundwater systems. — Zakir Hossain Chowdhury, The Dial, 7 July 2026

Meandering through its narrow alleyways and along its serpentine canals is practically an attraction unto itself. — Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 6 July 2026

As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, the museum offers a patriotic lens into how the canals, highways, railroads and mines that stitched this country together were built by machines born in American factories. — Malika Bowling, USA Today, 3 July 2026

But the gold seekers, the ‘49ers, immediately set to digging ditches and canals to divert water, and so the new state soon allowed that practice, too. — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026

The city’s architecture, centuries of art, intricate decorative details, winding canals and network of historic bridges (Pontes) continually influence his creative vision. — Anthony Demarco, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026

Replacing the canals with pressurized pipes could save a lot of water. — Emily Cureton Cook, ProPublica, 26 June 2026

Many people, meanwhile, were jumping into the city’s rivers, canals and other waterways for relief from the sweltering temperatures. — Alex Holmes, NBC news, 25 June 2026