Definition

1. Noun:

   • An artificial waterway constructed to allow the passage of boats or ships or to convey water for irrigation: A long, narrow, man-made channel of water.
   • (Anatomy/Zoology) A tubular passage or duct in the body of a plant or animal: A tube or channel conveying fluids, secretions, or other substances.
   • (Astronomy) A historical term for a perceived surface feature on Mars: Once thought to be a network of artificial channels, now understood to be an optical illusion.

2. Verb (rare):

   • To provide an area, especially a city, with a canal or canals: To construct or convert an area into a canal system.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Artificial Waterway):
  • The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
  • Farmers use irrigation canals to water their crops.
• Noun (Anatomical Duct):
  • The alimentary canal is the pathway food takes through the body.
  • A blocked ear canal can cause hearing problems.
• Verb:
  • The engineers planned to canal the marshy region to improve drainage.

Advanced Usage

• "Canalize" (verb, often used instead of the verb 'canal'): To convert into or furnish with a canal; to channel or direct.
  • The project aimed to canalize the river to prevent flooding.

Variants and Related Words

• Canalization (noun): The process of constructing canals or the state of being canalized.
  • The canalization of the river basin transformed the region's agriculture.
• Canal boat (noun): A long, narrow boat designed for use on canals.
• Canal lock (noun): A device used for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on a canal.

Synonyms

• Channel: A length of water wider than a strait, joining two larger areas of water, or a navigable passage. (e.g., ).
• Waterway: A river, canal, or other route for travel by water.
• Duct: A tube or passageway in the body or in a machine for carrying fluids.
• Conduit: A channel for conveying water or other fluid, or a tube protecting electric wiring.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions

(The word 'canal' itself does not commonly form phrasal verbs. The related verb 'canalize' is used with prepositions like 'into'.) - To canalize something into something: To direct or channel something toward a particular purpose. - She canalized her energy into her studies.

Related Idioms

(There are no common idioms that center on the word 'canal'.)

Noun

1. long and narrow strip of water made for boats or for irrigation
2. a bodily passage or tube lined with epithelial cells and conveying a secretion or other substance
   • the tear duct was obstructed
   • the alimentary canal
   • poison is released through a channel in the snake's fangs
3. (astronomy) an indistinct surface feature of Mars once thought to be a system of channels; they are now believed to be an optical illusion

Verb

1. provide (a city) with a canal