runnel

noun

run·​nel ˈrə-nᵊl How to pronounce runnel (audio)

Examples of runnel in a Sentence

the fugitive made use of local runnels to throw the bloodhounds off his scent
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.
Water fun will be a big draw, whether observing the natural pond-like runnel feature or the chutes of tumbling water and inch-deep pools safe to play in. Dallas News, 15 Apr. 2022 Designed by Louis Kahn for Jonas Salk, who created the polio vaccine, the complex sits on a shelf above the Pacific, a symmetrical white piazza flanked by buildings that are angled like a theater’s wings and bisected by a narrow runnel. Justin Davidson, Curbed, 15 Mar. 2021 The road ran like a twisty runnel through fuchsia hedges and bright fields of buttercups and cow parsley, up to a pass among the 3,000-foot Slieve Mish mountains. New York Times, 12 Aug. 2019 In summer, runoff from cloudbursts etches into the softer limestones and sluices through the deep runnels. National Geographic, 19 Aug. 2019 Grouting crews fan out across the subways every night, looking for runnels down walls and stalactites of muck oozing from ceilings, patching up incursions that are closest to electrical components first. Sarah Maslin Nir, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2018

Word History

Etymology

alteration of Middle English rinel, from Old English rynel; akin to Old English rinnan to run — more at run

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of runnel was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near runnel

Cite this Entry

“Runnel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/runnel. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!