channel1

[chan-l] /ˈtʃæn l/
noun
1.
the bed of a stream, river, or other waterway.
2.
Nautical. a navigable route between two bodies of water.
3.
the deeper part of a waterway.
4.
a wide strait, as between a continent and an island.
5.
a course into which something may be directed:
He hoped to direct the conversation to a new channel.
6.
a route through which anything passes or progresses:
channels of trade.
7.
channels, the specific, prescribed, or official course or means of communication:
In an emergency he was able to reach the governor without going through channels.
8.
a groove or furrow.
9.
a means of access:
He considers the Senate a channel to the White House.
10.
Architecture.
  1. a flute in a column, especially one having no fillet between it and other flutes.
  2. any of the prominent vertical grooves in a triglyph.
11.
(in jazz or popular music) a bridge.
12.
a frequency band of sufficient width for one- or two-way communication from or to a transmitter used for television, radio, CB radio, telephone, or telegraph communication.
13.
Computers. a path for the transfer of signals or data within a computer or between a computer and its peripheral equipment.
14.
Digital Technology.
  1. feed (def 23):
    Learn how to create your own web channel.
  2. a Web page or website that distributes frequently updated content by means of a feed:
    Subscribe to my YouTube channel.
15.
either of the two signals in stereophonic or any single signal in multichannel sound recording and reproduction.
16.
Cell Biology. a transient opening made by a protein embedded in a cell membrane, permitting passage of specific ions or molecules into or out of the cell:
calcium channel.
17.
a tubular passage for liquids or fluids.
18.
Building Trades.
  1. any structural member, as one of reinforced concrete, having the form of three sides of a rectangle.
  2. a number of such members:
    channel in 100-foot lengths.
  3. channel iron.
verb (used with object), channeled, channeling or (especially British) channelled, channelling.
19.
to convey through or as through a channel:
He channeled the information to us.
20.
to direct toward or into some particular course:
to channel one's interests.
21.
to excavate as a channel.
22.
to form a channel in; groove.
verb (used without object), channeled, channeling or (especially British) channelled, channelling.
23.
to become marked by a channel:
Soft earth has a tendency to channel during a heavy rain.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English chanel < Old French < Latin canālis waterpipe; see canal
Related forms
channeler; especially British, channeller, noun
multichanneled, adjective
multichannelled, adjective
nonchanneled, adjective
unchanneled, adjective
unchannelled, adjective
Synonyms
8. trough, gash, cut. 19. route, direct, steer.

channel2

[chan-l] /ˈtʃæn l/
noun
1.
a horizontal timber or ledge built outboard from the side of a sailing vessel to spread shrouds and backstays outward.
Also, chain wale, chain-wale.
Origin
1760-70; variant of chain wale
Examples from the web for channel
  • The double high water seems to extend across the channel.
  • channel the spare beauty of fall with striking arrangements for your holiday table.
  • We were taking the crooked northeasterly channel seaward, and were well out from shore while it was still early in the afternoon.
  • And bid the weltering waves their oozy channel keep.
  • The law of benefits is a difficult channel, which requires careful sailing, or rude boats.
  • The narrative flows through its easy channel without the smallest shock of interruption.
  • Something, however, is generally withdrawn from this channel in the case of foreign war.
  • The novel, in consequence, was left standing for a few years out of the main channel of imaginative production.
  • Before you can fiddle with an ion channel, you need to figure out what opens it-you have to find the right key.
  • The anaglyph image was calculated from the nadir channel and one stereo channel.
British Dictionary definitions for channel

channel1

/ˈtʃænəl/
noun
1.
a broad strait connecting two areas of sea
2.
the bed or course of a river, stream, or canal
3.
a navigable course through a body of water
4.
(often pl) a means or agency of access, communication, etc: to go through official channels
5.
a course into which something can be directed or moved: a new channel of thought
6.
(electronics)
  1. a band of radio frequencies assigned for a particular purpose, esp the broadcasting of a television signal
  2. a path for an electromagnetic signal: a stereo set has two channels
  3. a thin semiconductor layer between the source and drain of a field-effect transistor, the conductance of which is controlled by the gate voltage
7.
a tubular or trough-shaped passage for fluids
8.
a groove or flute, as in the shaft of a column
9.
(computing)
  1. a path along which data can be transmitted between a central processing unit and one or more peripheral devices
  2. one of the lines along the length of a paper tape on which information can be stored in the form of punched holes
10.
short for channel iron
verb -nels, -nelling, -nelled (US) -nels, -neling, -neled
11.
to provide or be provided with a channel or channels; make or cut channels in (something)
12.
(transitive) to guide into or convey through a channel or channels: information was channelled through to them
13.
to serve as a medium through whom the spirit of (a person of a former age) allegedly communicates with the living
14.
(transitive) to exhibit the traits of (another person) in one’s actions
15.
(transitive) to form a groove or flute in (a column, etc)
Derived Forms
channeller, noun
Word Origin
C13: from Old French chanel, from Latin canālis pipe, groove, conduit; see canal

channel2

/ˈtʃænəl/
noun
1.
(nautical) a flat timber or metal ledge projecting from the hull of a vessel above the chainplates to increase the angle of the shrouds
Word Origin
C18: variant of earlier chainwale; see chain, wale1 (planking)

Channel

/ˈtʃænəl/
noun
1.
the Channel, short for English Channel
Word Origin and History for channel
n.

early 14c., "bed of running water," from Old French chanel "bed of a waterway; tube, pipe, gutter," from Latin canalis "groove, channel, waterpipe" (see canal). Given a broader, figurative sense 1530s (of information, commerce, etc.); meaning "circuit for telegraph communication" (1848) probably led to that of "band of frequency for radio or TV signals" (1928). The Channel Islands are the French Îles Anglo-Normandes.

v.

1590s, "to wear channels in," from channel (n.). Meaning "convey in a channel" is from 1640s. Related: Channeled; channeling.

channel in Science
channel
  (chān'əl)   

  1. A specified frequency band for the transmission and reception of electromagnetic signals, as for television signals.

  2. The part of a field effect transistor, usually U-shaped, through which current flows from the source to the drain. See more at field effect transistor.

  3. A pathway through a protein molecule in a cell membrane that modulates the electrical potential across the membrane by controlling the passage of small inorganic ions into and out of the cell.

  4. The bed or deepest part of a river or harbor.

  5. A large strait, especially one that connects two seas.


Slang definitions & phrases for channel

channel

noun

A vein, usually in the crook of the elbow or the instep, favored for the injection of narcotics; main line (1950s+ Narcotics)

verb
  1. To lower the body of a car by opening channels around parts of the frame: Johnny Slash, the punk in wraparound shades, lusts for a chopped and channeled '49 Merc (1950s+ Hot rodders)
  2. To be a medium of communication for a unbodied spirit: Just some guy she channels for. Don't worry, the viewers love him (1980s+)

channel in Technology

chat
(Or "chat room", "room", depending on the system in question) The basic unit of group discussion in chat systems like IRC. Once one joins a channel, everything one types is read by others on that channel. Channels can either be named with numbers or with strings that begin with a "#" sign and can have topic descriptions (which are generally irrelevant to the actual subject of discussion).
Some notable channels are "#initgame", "#hottub" and "#report". At times of international crisis, "#report" has hundreds of members, some of whom take turns listening to various news services and typing in summaries of the news, or in some cases, giving first-hand accounts of the action (e.g. Scud missile attacks in Tel Aviv during the Gulf War in 1991).
[Jargon File]
(1998-01-25)

channel in the Bible

(1.) The bed of the sea or of a river (Ps. 18:15; Isa. 8:7). (2.) The "chanelbone" (Job 31:22 marg.), properly "tube" or "shaft," an old term for the collar-bone.

Idioms and Phrases with channel

channel

In addition to the idiom beginning with channel also see: go through channels