¹canal

noun ca·nal \kə-ˈnal\

: 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

Full Definition of CANAL

: a tubular anatomical passage or channel : duct

: channel, watercourse

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

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

See canal defined for English-language learners

See canal defined for kids

Origin of CANAL

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

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to CANAL

Synonyms: aqueduct, channel, conduit, course, flume, racecourse, raceway, watercourse, waterway

Other Anatomy Terms

bilateral symmetry, carotid, cartilage, dorsal, entrails, prehensile, renal, solar plexus, supine, thoracic, ventral

Rhymes with CANAL

banal, cabal, Chagall, chorale, copal, corral, decal, fal-lal, grand mal, joual, La Salle, locale, mescal, morale, nopal, pall-mall, pascal, Pascal, percale, quetzal, salal, serval, vinal

²canal

verb

canalled or canaledcanal·ling or canal·ing

Definition of CANAL

transitive verb

: to construct a canal through or across

First Known Use of CANAL

1793

Other Civil Engineering Terms

asphalt, ballast, barrage, cantilever, infrastructure, sluice

CANAL Defined for Kids

canal

noun ca·nal \kə-ˈnal\

Definition of CANAL for Kids

: an artificial waterway for boats or for irrigation of land

: a tubelike passage in the body <The ear canal leads from the opening of the ear to the eardrum.>

Headscratcher for CANAL

Canal is part of a famous saying from around the time the Panama Canal was built. The saying is spelled the same forward and backwards. It goes: A man! A plan! A canal! Panama!

Medical Dictionary