chan´nel|er
chan|nel1 «CHAN uhl»,
noun, verb, -neled,
-nel|
ing or
(especially British) -nelled,
-nel|
ling,
adjective.
–n.
1. the bed of a stream, river, or other watercourse: »
Rivers cut their own channels to the sea.
SYNONYM(S): race.
2. a body of water joining two larger bodies of water: »
The English Channel lies between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
SYNONYM(S): strait.
3. the deeper part of a waterway: »
There is shallow water on both sides of the channel in this river.
4. a passage for liquids; groove or canal. The gutter of a street is a channel for water.
SYNONYM(S): duct, conduit.
5. Figurative. the means by which something moves or is carried: »
The information came through official channels.
SYNONYM(S): course, passage, avenue, agency.
6. a narrow band of electronic frequencies that carries the programs of a television or radio station. The width of the band depends upon the type of transmission. »
The viewer who tunes to an empty channel and waits a long time may see a commercial (Time).
7. Figurative. a course of action; field of activity: »
He tried to find a suitable channel for his abilities.
8. a natural tubular passage for fluids: »
One snake,…from the size of the poison channel in its fangs, must be very deadly (Charles Darwin).
9. a) a long groove or furrow on a stone or column.
b) a trough-shaped bar of rolled iron or steel, forming in cross section three sides of a rectangle;
channel iron.
10. a path or area on a magnetic tape along which sound or video impressions are recorded.
11. a person through whom invisible beings, spirits, or forces supposedly communicate: »
J.Z. Knight, the “channel” for Ramtha (Atlanta Journal/Constitution).
12. a passageway through which electrically charged particles can enter a cell: »
Appel said that if antibodies attacked calcium channels on nerves, they might cause an influx of calcium (New York Times).
–v.t.
1. to form a channel in; wear or cut into a channel;
furrow: »
The river had channeled its way through the rocks.
2. to convey through a channel: »
Figurative. Gifts of mind…are…channelled out to the many through the few (Cardinal Newman).
3. Figurative. to direct into a particular course;
concentrate: »
Channel all your efforts into this one project, and you will succeed.
4. to supposedly communicate with (invisible beings,
spirits, or forces): »
Not all the channeled voices are from outer space (Time).
5. to speak or act as someone else with great accuracy; take on or represent the persona of another: »
For decades the stage actor channeled Mark Twain in a one-man show.
–adj.
having a cross section shaped like this ⊔.
–chan´nel|er, noun.
chan|nel2 «CHAN uhl», noun.
a horizontal plank, bolted on edge to the outside of a ship, to which the shrouds are set up to increase their spread.
Useful english dictionary.
2012.