noun
canal
kuh-NAL
noun
1
A man-made waterway built for boats, irrigation, or drainage.
"Barges once carried coal along the canal."
"The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans."
2
A tube-shaped passage inside the body or a plant.
"The dentist worked carefully on the root canal."
How to Use Canal
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishAn artificial waterway, or by extension, a narrow channel-like passage in the body.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
canal boat
root canal
canal lock
Word Forms
canalled past tense, canals plural, Canals plural, canals singular
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “canal”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
Barges once carried coal along the _____.
Etymology
From Old French canal, from Latin canalis, "channel", ultimately from a word for "reed" — a doublet of "channel".