CHANNEL (channelled, channelling)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does channel mean? 

• CHANNEL (noun)
  The noun CHANNEL has 8 senses:

1. a path over which electrical signals can pass

2. a passage for water (or other fluids) to flow through

3. a long narrow furrow cut either by a natural process (such as erosion) or by a tool (as e.g. a groove in a phonograph record)

4. a deep and relatively narrow body of water (as in a river or a harbor or a strait linking two larger bodies) that allows the best passage for vessels

5. (often plural) a means of communication or access

6. a bodily passage or tube lined with epithelial cells and conveying a secretion or other substance

7. a television station and its programs

8. a way of selling a company's product either directly or via distributors

  Familiarity information: CHANNEL used as a noun is common.

• CHANNEL (verb)
  The verb CHANNEL has 3 senses:

1. transmit or serve as the medium for transmission

2. direct the flow of

3. send from one person or place to another

  Familiarity information: CHANNEL used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CHANNEL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A path over which electrical signals can pass

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

channel; transmission channel

Context example:

a channel is typically what you rent from a telephone company

Hypernyms ("channel" is a kind of...):

transmission (communication by means of transmitted signals)

Derivation:

channel (transmit or serve as the medium for transmission)

channelize (send from one person or place to another)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A passage for water (or other fluids) to flow through

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

gutters carried off the rainwater into a series of channels under the street

Hypernyms ("channel" is a kind of...):

passage (a way through or along which someone or something may pass)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "channel"):

limbers (a channel or gutter on either side of a ship's keelson; carries bilge water into the pump well)

gutter; trough (a channel along the eaves or on the roof; collects and carries away rainwater)

Derivation:

channelize (cause to form a channel)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A long narrow furrow cut either by a natural process (such as erosion) or by a tool (as e.g. a groove in a phonograph record)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Synonyms:

channel; groove

Hypernyms ("channel" is a kind of...):

depression; impression; imprint (a concavity in a surface produced by pressing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "channel"):

quirk (a narrow groove beside a beading)

washout (the channel or break produced by erosion of relatively soft soil by water)

stria; striation (any of a number of tiny parallel grooves such as: the scratches left by a glacier on rocks or the streaks or ridges in muscle tissue)

rut (a groove or furrow (especially one in soft earth caused by wheels))

track (a groove on a phonograph recording)

rabbet; rebate (a rectangular groove made to hold two pieces together)

flute; fluting (a groove or furrow in cloth etc (particularly a shallow concave groove on the shaft of a column))

dado (a rectangular groove cut into a board so that another piece can fit into it)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A deep and relatively narrow body of water (as in a river or a harbor or a strait linking two larger bodies) that allows the best passage for vessels

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Context example:

the ship went aground in the channel

Hypernyms ("channel" is a kind of...):

body of water; water (the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean))

Domain category:

river (a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "channel"):

rill (a small channel (as one formed by soil erosion))

watercourse (natural or artificial channel through which water flows)

tideway (a channel in which a tidal current runs)

sound; strait (a narrow channel of the sea joining two larger bodies of water)

gut (a narrow channel or strait)

canal ((astronomy) an indistinct surface feature of Mars once thought to be a system of channels; they are now believed to be an optical illusion)

Instance hyponyms:

Hampton Roads (a channel in southeastern Virginia through which the Elizabeth River and the James River flow into Chesapeake Bay)

Mozambique Channel (an arm of the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and southeastern Africa)

English Channel (an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that forms a channel between France and Britain)

Windward Passage (a channel between eastern Cuba and western Haiti that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Caribbean Sea)

Harlem River (a channel separating Manhattan from the Bronx)

Sense 5

Meaning:

(often plural) a means of communication or access

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

channel; communication channel; line

Context example:

lines of communication were set up between the two firms

Hypernyms ("channel" is a kind of...):

communicating; communication (the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information)

Domain usage:

plural; plural form (the form of a word that is used to denote more than one)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "channel"):

line of gab; patter; spiel (plausible glib talk (especially useful to a salesperson))

lens ((metaphor) a channel through which something can be seen or understood)

back channel (an alternative to the regular channels of communication that is used when agreements must be made secretly (especially in diplomacy or government))

contact; inter-group communication; liaison; link (a channel for communication between groups)

Derivation:

channel (send from one person or place to another)

channel (direct the flow of)

channel (transmit or serve as the medium for transmission)

channelize (send from one person or place to another)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A bodily passage or tube lined with epithelial cells and conveying a secretion or other substance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

canal; channel; duct; epithelial duct

Context example:

poison is released through a channel in the snake's fangs

Hypernyms ("channel" is a kind of...):

passage; passageway (a path or channel or duct through or along which something may pass)

Meronyms (parts of "channel"):

ampulla (the dilated portion of a canal or duct especially of the semicircular canals of the ear)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "channel"):

canalis vertebralis; spinal canal; vertebral canal (the canal in successive vertebrae through which the spinal cord passes)

lactiferous duct (ducts of the mammary gland that carry milk to the nipple)

alimentary canal; alimentary tract; digestive tract; digestive tube; gastrointestinal tract; GI tract (tubular passage of mucous membrane and muscle extending about 8.3 meters from mouth to anus; functions in digestion and elimination)

bronchiole (any of the smallest bronchial ducts; ending in alveoli)

cartilaginous tube (a duct with cartilaginous walls)

ejaculatory duct (a part of the seminal duct formed by the duct from the seminal vesicle and the vas deferens; passes through the prostate gland)

seminal duct (the efferent duct of the testis in man)

ductus deferens; vas deferens (a duct that carries spermatozoa from the epididymis to the ejaculatory duct)

epididymis (a convoluted tubule in each testis; carries sperm to vas deferens)

vagina (the lower part of the female reproductive tract; a moist canal in female mammals extending from the labia minora to the uterus)

umbilical; umbilical cord (membranous duct connecting the fetus with the placenta)

canalis cervicis uteri; cervical canal (a spindle-shaped canal extending from the uterus to the vagina)

urethra (duct through which urine is discharged in most mammals and which serves as the male genital duct)

ureter (either of a pair of thick-walled tubes that carry urine from the kidney to the urinary bladder)

aqueductus cerebri; cerebral aqueduct; Sylvian aqueduct (a canal connecting the third and fourth ventricles)

salivary duct (a duct through which saliva passes from the salivary gland into the mouth)

lymph vessel; lymphatic vessel (a vascular duct that carries lymph which is eventually added to the venous blood circulation)

pancreatic duct (a duct connecting the pancreas with the intestine)

bile duct; common bile duct (a duct formed by the hepatic and cystic ducts; opens into the duodenum)

canalis inguinalis; inguinal canal (oblique passage through the lower abdominal wall; in males it is the passage through which the testes descend into the scrotum and it contains the spermatic cord; in females it transmits the round ligament of the uterus)

hepatic duct (the duct that drains bile from the liver)

Haversian canal (any of the many tiny canals that contain blood vessels and connective tissue and that form a network in bone)

nasolacrimal duct (a duct that carries tears from the lacrimal sac to the nasal cavity)

lachrymal duct; lacrimal duct; tear duct (any of several small ducts that carry tears from the lacrimal glands)

sinus; venous sinus (a wide channel containing blood; does not have the coating of an ordinary blood vessel)

canal of Schlemm; Schlemm's canal; sinus venosus sclerae (a circular canal in the eye that drains aqueous humor from the anterior chamber of the eye into the anterior ciliary veins)

canaliculus (a small canal or duct as in some bones and parts of plants)

ductule; ductulus (a very small duct)

pore (any small opening in the skin or outer surface of an animal)

Derivation:

channelize (send from one person or place to another)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A television station and its programs

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

channel; television channel; TV channel

Context example:

they offer more than one hundred channels

Hypernyms ("channel" is a kind of...):

television station; TV station (station for the production and transmission of television broadcasts)

Sense 8

Meaning:

A way of selling a company's product either directly or via distributors

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

channel; distribution channel

Context example:

possible distribution channels are wholesalers or small retailers or retail chains or direct mailers or your own stores

Hypernyms ("channel" is a kind of...):

marketing (the commercial processes involved in promoting and selling and distributing a product or service)

• CHANNEL (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Transmit or serve as the medium for transmission

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

carry; channel; conduct; convey; impart; transmit

Context example:

Many metals conduct heat

Hypernyms (to "channel" is one way to...):

bring; convey; take (take something or somebody with oneself somewhere)

Verb group:

carry; convey; express (serve as a means for expressing something)

carry (be conveyed over a certain distance)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "channel"):

wash up (carry somewhere (of water or current or waves))

pipe in (bring in through pipes)

bring in (transmit)

retransmit (transmit again)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

channel (a path over which electrical signals can pass)

channel ((often plural) a means of communication or access)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Direct the flow of

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

channel information towards a broad audience

Hypernyms (to "channel" is one way to...):

channelise; channelize; direct; guide; head; maneuver; manoeuver; manoeuvre; point; steer (direct the course; determine the direction of travelling)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Sentence example:

They channel the water from the sink

Derivation:

channel ((often plural) a means of communication or access)

channelisation; channelization (management through specified channels of communication)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Send from one person or place to another

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

channel; channelise; channelize; transfer; transmit; transport

Context example:

transmit a message

Hypernyms (to "channel" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "channel"):

bring; convey; fetch; get (go or come after and bring or take back)

project (transfer (ideas or principles) from one domain into another)

propagate (transmit)

translate (bring to a certain spiritual state)

release; turn (let (something) fall or spill from a container)

send; send out (to cause or order to be taken, directed, or transmitted to another place)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

channel ((often plural) a means of communication or access)

channelisation; channelization (management through specified channels of communication)

 Context examples 

The Committee serves as the official channel through which the findings and recommendations emerging from these groups are submitted to the NCI.

(Advisory Committee to the Director, NCI, NCI Thesaurus)

This allele, which encodes beta-2 adrenergic receptor protein, plays a role in the regulation of both calcium channel complex regulation and adenylyl cyclase activity.

(ADRB2 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

There does seem to be a something in the air of Hartfield which gives love exactly the right direction, and sends it into the very channel where it ought to flow.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Thirty-eight of the sites showed active gully formation, such as new channel segments and increased deposits at the downhill end of some gullies.

(NASA spacecraft observes further evidence of dry ice gullies on Mars, NASA)

This allele, which encodes A-kinase anchor protein 9, is involved in the regulation of both glutamate receptor and potassium channel signaling pathways through the alteration of the cellular location of protein kinase A.

(AKAP9 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

It is characterized by the presence of numerous dilated vascular channels.

(Nasopharyngeal Angiofibroma, NCI Thesaurus)

Amifampridine inhibits potassium channel efflux, increasing the duration of the action potential, which results in an increase in the duration of calcium channel opening and enhanced acetylcholine (ACh) release.

(Amifampridine, NCI Thesaurus)

This binding causes an allosteric modification of the receptor and enhances the affinity of GABA to the receptor leading to an increase in the frequency of chloride-channel opening events.

(Alprazolam, NCI Thesaurus)

These channels were eroded into the rock below the ice, leaving distinctive formations known as "tunnel valleys."

(Massive East Antarctic Ice Sheet has history of instability, National Science Foundatio)

The scientists further examined how the subunits fit together, and where molecules bind to trigger the channel to open or close.

(Structure of receptor involved in brain disorders, NIH)