Synonyms of channel

channel 1 of 2

noun

ˈcha-nᵊl 

1

as in canal

an open man-made passageway for water

water was drained from the swamp through a specially constructed channel

Synonyms & Similar Words

• canal
• aqueduct
• conduit
• waterway
• watercourse
• raceway
• river
• flume
• racecourse
• course
• sluice
• spillway
• stream
• torrent
• floodway
• gutter
• millrace
• sluiceway
• millstream
• trough
• rivulet
• tideway
• swash

2

as in strait

a narrow body of water between two land masses

the world record for swimming the channel between France and Great Britain

Synonyms & Similar Words

• strait
• sound
• neck
• inlet
• narrows
• bay
• roads
• gulf
• arm
• reach
• stretch
• roadstead

3

as in pipeline

a direct way of passing along information or supplies

you need to make arrangements through the proper channels

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pipeline
• outlet
• source
• route
• conduit
• avenue
• supplier
• origin
• contact
• grapevine
• connection
• wellspring
• fountainhead

4

as in conduit

a long hollow cylinder for carrying a substance (as a liquid or gas)

had to replace the main water channel

Synonyms & Similar Words

• conduit
• tube
• pipe
• funnel
• drain
• line
• trough
• duct
• leader
• piping
• penstock
• pipeline
• tile
• main
• waste pipe
• spout
• standpipe
• hydrant
• stovepipe
• drainpipe
• smokestack
• waterspout
• pipage

5

as in psychic

a person who claims to speak with or for the spirits of the dead

the channel went into a trance and began speaking in what was purported to be the voice of the deceased woman

Synonyms & Similar Words

• psychic
• medium
• spiritualist
• channeler
• spiritist
• telepath
• clairvoyant
• mind reader
• sensitive
• mentalist

channel

2 of 2

verb

as in to direct

to cause to move to a central point or along a restricted pathway

an athletic youth who channeled all of his energy into sports

Synonyms & Similar Words

• direct
• pipe
• funnel
• channelize
• carry
• conduct
• canalize
• focus
• siphon
• transmit
• convey
• consolidate
• concentrate

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of channel

Noun

Those range from the macro-industrial such as aircraft parts and underwater pipelines to the micro-medical such as stents that prop open bodily channels for bodily fluids. — New Atlas, 2 Oct. 2026

The right retail partner can act like a media channel, amplifying a brand world in front of the right customer. — Rhea Cartwright, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026

Verb

About half of the bow tie is traffic-free with most cars channeled through on Seventh Avenue. — Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 30 Sep. 2026

Someone with the same disregard for convention as my mother, but one who’d channeled that subversiveness into something successful? — Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026