What does "channelization" mean?

The straightening and widening of a stream or river.

What is a synonym for "channelization"?

Common synonyms include: canalisation, canalization, channelisation.

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The straightening and widening of a stream or river. countable, uncountable
"Section 404 of the Clean Water Act does not regulate activities such as drainage, ditching, and channelization for agricultural production."
2
management through specified channels of communication wordnet
3
The division of a wide-band communications channel into multiple narrow-band channels. countable, uncountable
"1979, Radiofrequency use and management: impacts from the World Administrative Radio Conference of 1979. The specific frequency bands are not consistent with the current design and channelization plans for the DSCS [Defense Satellite Communications System] III."

"Section 404 of the Clean Water Act does not regulate activities such as drainage, ditching, and channelization for agricultural production."

From channel + -ization.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.