Channel has 15 different meanings across 3 categories:
Noun · Verb · Proper Noun
a path over which electrical signals can pass
"a channel is typically what you rent from a telephone company"
a passage for water (or other fluids) to flow through
"the fields were crossed with irrigation channels"
"gutters carried off the rainwater into a series of channels under the street"
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
"the ship went aground in the channel"
(often plural) a means of communication or access
"it must go through official channels"
"lines of communication were set up between the two firms"
a bodily passage or tube lined with epithelial cells and conveying a secretion or other substance
"the tear duct was obstructed"
"the alimentary canal"
"poison is released through a channel in the snake's fangs"
a television station and its programs
"a satellite TV channel"
"surfing through the channels"
"they offer more than one hundred channels"
a way of selling a company's product either directly or via distributors
"possible distribution channels are wholesalers or small retailers or retail chains or direct mailers or your own stores"
The physical confine of a river or slough, consisting of a bed and banks.
"The old sailor carefully secured the shroud to the iron channel running along the ship's side before checking the rigging for tension."
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.
In plain English: A channel is a path through which something flows, like water moving through a riverbed or signals traveling through a TV broadcast.
"We tuned the television to channel four."
Usage: In everyday usage, a channel refers to a narrow body of water or a path through which something flows, such as a river cutting through land. The nautical definition regarding the structural parts of a sailing ship is specialized and rarely used outside of maritime contexts.
send from one person or place to another
"transmit a message"
To make or cut a channel or groove in.
"The gardener used a hoe to carve a shallow channel along the row of potatoes so they could water them without disturbing the roots."
In plain English: To channel something means to direct your energy or feelings into a specific activity or goal.
"He tried to channel his frustration into productive work."
Usage: As a verb, to channel means to direct or guide something into a specific course or stream, such as directing water through a narrow passage. It is commonly used metaphorically to describe focusing energy, emotions, or resources toward a particular goal rather than letting them flow freely.
Ellipsis of English Channel.
"We spent our Saturday afternoon watching old British dramas on the channel."
The word "channel" entered English via Middle English and Old French from the Latin canālis, which originally meant a groove or canal. It shares a common origin with the modern word "canal."