channel
     n 1: a path over which electrical signals can pass; "a channel is
          typically what you rent from a telephone company" [syn:
          {transmission channel}]
     2: a passage for water (or other fluids) to flow through; "the
        fields were crossed with irrigation channels"; "gutters
        carried off the rainwater into a series of channels under
        the street"
     3: a long narrow furrow cut either by a natural process (such
        as erosion) or by a tool (as e.g. a groove in a phonograph
        record) [syn: {groove}]
     4: a deep and relatively narrow body of water (as in a river or
        a harbor or a strait linking two larger bodies) that
        allows the best passage for vessels; "the ship went
        aground in the channel"
     5: (often plural) a means of communication or access; "it must
        go through official channels"; "lines of communication
        were set up between the two firms" [syn: {communication
        channel}, {line}]
     6: a bodily passage or tube lined with epithelial cells and
        conveying a secretion or other substance; "the tear duct
        was obstructed"; "the alimentary canal"; "poison is
        released through a channel in the snake's fangs" [syn: {duct},
         {epithelial duct}, {canal}]
     7: a television station and its programs; "a satellite TV
        channel"; "surfing through the channels"; "they offer more
        than one hundred channels" [syn: {television channel}, {TV
        channel}]
     8: a way of selling a company's product either directly or via
        distributors; "possible distribution channels are
        wholesalers or small retailers or retail chains or direct
        mailers or your own stores" [syn: {distribution channel}]
     v 1: transmit or serve as the medium for transmission; "Sound
          carries well over water"; "The airwaves carry the
          sound"; "Many metals conduct heat" [syn: {conduct}, {transmit},
           {convey}, {carry}]
     2: direct the flow of; "channel infomartion towards a broad
        audience" [syn: {canalize}, {canalise}]
     3: send from one person or place to another; "transmit a
        message" [syn: {transmit}, {transfer}, {transport}, {channelize},
         {channelise}]
     [also: {channelling}, {channelled}]
Source: WordNet® 2.0

channel n. [IRC] The basic unit of discussion on {IRC}. Once one joins
   a channel, everything one types is read by others on that channel.
   Channels are named with strings that begin with a `#' sign and can have
   topic descriptions (which are generally irrelevant to the actual subject
   of discussion). Some notable channels are `#initgame', `#hottub',
   `callahans', and `#report'. At times of international crisis, `#report'
   has hundreds of members, some of whom take turns listening to various
   news services and typing in summaries of the news, or in some cases,
   giving first-hand accounts of the action (e.g., Scud missile attacks in
   Tel Aviv during the Gulf War in 1991).


Source: The Jargon File