overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

channel.

The hollow bed of running waters; (also) the bed of the sea or other body of water.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈt͡ʃænəl/[ˈt͡ʃænəl] ~ [ˈt͡ʃænl̩]/ˈt͡ʃeə̯nəl/Canada, US[ˈt͡ʃeə̯nəl] ~ [ˈt͡ʃeə̯nl̩]Canada, US
  1. The hollow bed of running waters; (also) the bed of the sea or other body of water.

    The water coming out of the waterwheel created a standing wave in the channel.
  2. The natural or man-made deeper course through a reef, bar, bay, or any shallow body of water.

    A channel was dredged to allow ocean-going vessels to reach the city.
  3. The navigable part of a river.

    We were careful to keep our boat in the channel.
  4. A narrow body of water between two land masses.

    The English Channel lies between France and England.
  5. Something through which another thing passes; a means of conveying or transmitting.

    The news was conveyed to us by different channels.
  6. An ion channel: pore-forming proteins located in a cell membrane that allow specific ions to pass through.

  7. A gutter; a groove, as in a fluted column.

  8. A structural member with a cross section shaped like a squared-off letter C.

  9. A connection between initiating and terminating nodes of a circuit.

    The guard-rail provided the channel between the downed wire and the tree.
  10. The narrow conducting portion of a MOSFET transistor.

  11. The part that connects a data source to a data sink.

    A channel stretches between them.
  12. A path for conveying electrical or electromagnetic signals, usually distinguished from other parallel paths.

    We are using one of the 24 channels.
  13. A single path provided by a transmission medium via physical separation, such as by multipair cable.

    The channel is created by bonding the signals from these four pairs.
  14. A single path provided by a transmission medium via spectral or protocol separation, such as by frequency or time-division multiplexing.

    Their call is being carried on channel 6 of the T-1 line.
  15. A specific radio frequency or band of frequencies, usually in conjunction with a predetermined letter, number, or codeword, and allocated by international agreement.

    KNDD is the channel at 107.7 MHz in Seattle.
  16. A specific radio frequency or band of frequencies used for transmitting television.

    NBC is on channel 11 in San Jose.
  17. The portion of a storage medium, such as a track or a band, that is accessible to a given reading or writing station or head.

    This chip in this disk drive is the channel device.
  18. The part of a turbine pump where the pressure is built up.

    The liquid is pressurized in the lateral channel.
  19. A distribution channel.

  20. A particular area for conversations on an IRC or similar network, analogous to a chat room and often dedicated to a specific topic.

    Internet
  21. A means of delivering up-to-date Internet content via a push mechanism.

    Internet · historical
  22. A psychic or medium who takes on the personality of a spirit and conveys messages from them.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English chanel (also as canel, cannel, kanel), a borrowing from Old French chanel, canel, from Latin canālis (“groove; canal; channel”). Doublet of canal.

verb/ˈt͡ʃænəl/[ˈt͡ʃænəl] ~ [ˈt͡ʃænl̩]/ˈt͡ʃeə̯nəl/Canada, US[ˈt͡ʃeə̯nəl] ~ [ˈt͡ʃeə̯nl̩]Canada, US
  1. To make or cut a channel or groove in.

    transitive
  2. To direct or guide along a desired course.

    transitive
    We will channel the traffic to the left with these cones.
  3. To serve as a medium for.

    transitive
    She was channeling the spirit of her late husband, Seth.
  4. To follow as a model, especially in a performance.

    transitive
    He was trying to channel President Reagan, but the audience wasn't buying it.
    When it is my turn to sing karaoke, I am going to channel Ray Charles.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English chanelen, from the noun (see above).

noun/ˈt͡ʃænəl/[ˈt͡ʃænəl] ~ [ˈt͡ʃænl̩]/ˈt͡ʃeə̯nəl/Canada, US[ˈt͡ʃeə̯nəl] ~ [ˈt͡ʃeə̯nl̩]Canada, US
  1. The wale of a sailing ship which projects beyond the gunwale and to which the shrouds attach via the chains. One of the flat ledges of heavy plank bolted edgewise to the outside of a vessel, to increase the spread of the shrouds and carry them clear of the bulwarks.

Where this word comes from

From chainwale.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

channel has 7 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

channel studiochannel workshello, channel

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.