# channel

Pronunciation: say "CHAN-uhl" /ˈt͡ʃænəl/

## Noun

1. A band of radio frequencies assigned for transmitting television or radio signals, usually identified by a number, as in 'channel seven' or 'channel 16'.
   - Simple: A numbered radio or TV frequency that you tune to for a station or for messages.
   - _The local station broadcasts on channel seven._
   - _Cable providers assign each network to its own channel in the lineup._
2. A route or medium by which something passes or is conveyed from one place to another.
   - Simple: A way for something to move or pass from one place to another.
   - _Diplomatic channels remained open even after formal talks collapsed._
   - _The charity serves as a channel for donations to reach disaster victims._
3. A narrow body of water that lies between and separates two land masses.
   - Simple: A narrow area of sea between two pieces of land.
   - _Ferries cross the channel between the mainland and the island several times a day._
   - _The channel between Sicily and the Italian mainland is notoriously turbulent._
5. The route by which goods or services pass from producer to consumer, such as wholesalers, retailers, or direct sales.
   - Simple: A way a company gets its products to the people who buy them.
   - _The brand cut out retailers and sells through a direct-to-consumer channel._
   - _Adding grocery stores as a channel doubled the snack maker's reach._
6. A separate path along which a signal travels, kept apart from others by physical wiring, frequency, or time slot, as in the two channels of a stereo recording.
   - Simple: One separate path that a sound or data signal travels along, apart from other signals.
   - _Stereo recordings use two channels, one for each speaker._
   - _Each color in the video signal travels on its own channel._
7. The bed along which a river or stream flows, or the bed of the sea or another body of water.
   - Simple: The low ground that a river or stream flows along, or the bottom of the sea.
   - _Over centuries, the river carved a deep channel through the limestone._
   - _Floodwater spilled over when the stream rose above its channel._
8. On IRC or a similar network, a space for group conversation, comparable to a chat room and frequently devoted to one topic.
   - Simple: A place online where a group chats, usually about one topic.
   - _The developers coordinate releases in a dedicated channel on the company server._
   - _Newcomers are asked to read the rules before posting in the channel._
9. The deeper part of a river, harbor, or other shallow stretch of water, natural or dredged, along which ships can pass.
   - Simple: The deep part of a river or harbor where boats and ships can safely go.
   - _River pilots guide cargo ships along the channel between the sandbanks._
   - _Falling water levels narrowed the channel and halted barge traffic for a week._
10. A pore-forming protein in a cell membrane that lets specific ions pass through.
   - Simple: A tiny opening in a cell's outer layer that lets certain particles pass through.
   - _A sodium channel opens briefly to admit ions into the neuron._
   - _Certain drugs block the channel so ions can no longer pass._
11. The part of a system that connects a data source to a data sink and carries information between them.
   - Simple: The path that carries information from where it starts to where it ends up.
   - _The channel between sender and receiver dropped several packets._
   - _Designers widened the channel to move more data each second._
16. A psychic or medium who briefly takes on the personality of another being, such as a departed spirit.
   - Simple: A person who claims to let a spirit speak through them for a while.
   - _The channel claimed a centuries-old spirit was speaking through her._
   - _Skeptics watched the channel slip into a trance on stage._
12. A gutter or groove cut along a surface, such as the flutes of a column.
   - Simple: A long narrow cut or groove in a surface, or a gutter for water.
   - _A shallow channel in the stone floor carried wastewater out of the kitchen._
   - _Vertical channels run the height of each marble column on the temple's facade._
18. A structural beam whose cross section is shaped like a squared-off letter C.
   - Simple: A metal bar shaped like the letter C when you look at its end.
   - _Workers welded a steel channel along the base of the wall._
   - _The frame rested on two channels running the length of the floor._
13. The page on a video-sharing or social media site where a person or organization posts their content, YouTube being a typical example.
   - Simple: A page on a video or social media site where a person or group shares what they make.
   - _The museum launched a YouTube channel to share short behind-the-scenes clips._
   - _Several small gaming channels lost subscribers after the platform changed how it recommends videos._

## Verb

4. To direct or guide something along a desired or deliberately chosen course.
   - Simple: To make something move or go in the direction you want.
   - _Levees channel the river safely past the city._
   - _The company channeled its profits into research and development._
14. To follow someone as a model, adopting their style or manner, especially in a performance.
   - Simple: To copy the style of a person, often while performing.
   - _On stage she seems to channel the great divas of the past._
   - _For his speech, the candidate channeled Lincoln's plain, direct style._
15. To serve as a medium for something, allowing it to pass through or be expressed.
   - Simple: To act as the carrier that something, like a message or feeling, passes through.
   - _The medium claimed to channel the spirit of the dead composer._
   - _Her memoir channels the grief of an entire generation._
17. To cut or carve a groove or narrow passage into a surface or piece of material.
   - Simple: To cut a long, narrow groove into a hard surface.
   - _Masons channel the granite before laying the drainage pipes._
   - _The machine channeled the steel plate along its full length._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A connection between the starting and ending nodes of an electrical circuit.
- (noun) The narrow conducting region within a MOSFET transistor through which current flows.
- (noun) The portion of a storage medium, such as a track or band, that one read or write head can access.
- (noun) A method for delivering up-to-date Internet content to users through a push mechanism.
- (noun) The section of a turbine pump in which pressure is built up.
- (noun) A flat ledge of heavy plank bolted to a sailing ship's outside, spreading the shrouds and keeping them clear of the side.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3, 5–13, 16, 18** — Latin canālis ("groove, canal, channel") gave Old French chanel or canel, which Middle English borrowed as chanel, also spelled canel, cannel and kanel. Canal is a doublet.
**Meanings 4, 14–15, 17** — From Middle English chanelen, formed from the noun channel (see above).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/channel (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).