canalization

noun

can·​a·​li·​za·​tion ˌka-nə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

1

: an act or instance of canalizing

2

: a system of channels

Examples of canalization in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2018, Puerto Rico’s congressional representative, Jenniffer González Colón(R), announced the approval of $2.5 billion of federal funding for flood control projects, including the canalization and construction of levees along Rio Nigua in Salinas. —Arelis R. Hernández, Washington Post, 23 Sep. 2022

Orbexilum stipulatum, also known as Falls-of-the-Ohio Scurf pea, hasn’t been seen since 1881, its habitat erased by the canalization of the Ohio River. —Jill Kiedaisch, Popular Mechanics, 16 Apr. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

canalization

noun

ca·​na·​li·​za·​tion

variants or British canalisation

ˌkan-ᵊl-ə-ˈzā-shən 

1

: surgical formation of holes or canals for drainage without tubes

2

: natural formation of new channels in tissue (as formation of new blood vessels through a blood clot)

3

: establishment of new pathways in the central nervous system by repeated passage of nerve impulses

4

: the developmental buffering and homeostatic processes by which a particular kind of organism forms a relatively constant phenotype although individuals may have a variety of genotypes and environmental conditions may vary