channelize

verb

chan·​nel·​ize ˈcha-nə-ˌlīz How to pronounce channelize (audio)
channelized; channelizing

transitive verb

1
2
3
: to straighten by means of a channel
channelize a stream
channelization noun

Examples of channelize in a Sentence

channelized all of his resources into winning that state's crucial primary
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
As a response to this, in the 1960s, the city added more concrete, channelizing the river in the hopes of getting runoff away from neighborhoods to Lake Michigan as fast as possible. Caitlin Looby, Journal Sentinel, 4 Dec. 2024 Austin and San Antonio have dammed, altered, channelized, buried and otherwise manipulated their creeks and rivers. Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 13 Mar. 2024 Draining wetlands and channelizing the Sprague River to enable cattle ranching and agriculture has taken its toll on the region. Debra Utacia Krol, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024 Wild Los Angeles Los Angeles is a city of nearly 3.9 million people, with a heavily urbanized landscape that’s epitomized by its vast network of freeways and a mostly tame and channelized Los Angeles River. Discover Magazine, 15 June 2024 Harvey says his team’s model can help by quantifying exactly how much carbon would be lost if a particular bog were drained or channelized. Quanta Magazine, 28 May 2024 The Army Corps of Engineers responded by straightening and channelizing the Trinity, cutting down trees, and raising levees to contain future floods. Hollace Ava Weiner, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 May 2024 Ahead are the arduous tasks of restoring forests ravaged by huge wildfires, repairing the damage to creeks and rivers that were dredged and channelized to dry up wetlands that once made their waters clear and pure, and mitigating other damage to lands and waters occurring over the past 150 years. The Arizona Republic, 7 Jan. 2024 Yet California squandered much of the bounty from its recent unusually wet winter, as levees, channelized rivers and paved cities funneled much of the runoff into the ocean rather than capturing it. Erica Gies, Scientific American, 25 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1609, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of channelize was in 1609

Cite this Entry

“Channelize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/channelize. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

channelize

verb
chan·​nel·​ize ˈchan-ᵊl-ˌīz How to pronounce channelize (audio)
channelized; channelizing
1
2
: to straighten by means of a channel
channelize a stream
channelization noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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