Channel vs. Passage — What's the Difference?

Natural or artificial waterway used for navigation.

In music, a distinct portion of a piece or performance.

In geography, a strait or sea passage between two landmasses.

A way through which one can pass from one place to another, such as a corridor or hallway.

A medium used for communication or transmission of information.

A segment or part of a written work, often cited.

In business, a method or system for distributing goods or services.

The process of time passing.

In technology, a path for transferring data or signals.

A journey or voyage by sea or air.

A length of water wider than a strait, joining two larger areas of water, especially two seas.

The action or process of moving through or past somewhere on the way from one place to another

A band of frequencies used in radio and television transmission, especially as used by a particular station.

A narrow way allowing access between buildings or to different rooms within a building; a passageway

A method or system for communication or distribution

The process of transition from one state to another

An electric circuit which acts as a path for a signal

A short extract from a book or other printed material

A tubular passage or duct for liquid

The propagation of microorganisms or cells in a series of host organisms or culture media, so as to maintain them or modify their virulence

Direct towards a particular end or object

A movement performed in advanced dressage and classical riding, in which the horse executes a slow elevated trot, giving the impression of dancing.

Form channels or grooves in

Subject (a strain of microorganisms or cells) to a passage

The bed of a stream or river.

Movement from one place to another

The deeper part of a river or harbor, especially a deep navigable passage.

The process of elapsing

A broad strait, especially one that connects two seas.

The process of changing from one condition or stage to another; transition

A trench, furrow, or groove.

Enactment into law of a legislative bill.

A tubular passage for liquids; a conduit.

A journey, especially one by air or water

A course or pathway through which information is transmitted

The right to travel as a passenger, especially on a ship

Often channels A route of communication or access

The right, permission, or power to come and go freely

In communications theory, a gesture, action, sound, written or spoken word, or visual image used in transmitting information.

A path, channel, or duct through, over, or along which something may pass

(Electronics) A specified frequency band for the transmission and reception of electromagnetic signals, as for television signals.

A corridor.

A continuous program of audio or video content distributed by a television, radio, or internet broadcaster.

An occurrence or event

A company or other entity presenting such content.

Something, such as an exchange of words or blows, that occurs between two persons

(Computers) A chatroom on an online network.

A segment of a written work or speech

The medium through which a spirit guide purportedly communicates with the physical world.

(Music) A segment of a composition, especially one that demonstrates the virtuousity of the composer or performer

A rolled metal bar with a bracket-shaped section.

A section of a painting or other piece of artwork; a detail.

See ion channel.

(Physiology) The process of discharging something from a bodily part, such as evacuation of waste from the bowels.

See protein channel.

(Medicine) The introduction of an instrument into a bodily cavity.

A wood or steel ledge projecting from a sailing ship's sides to spread the shrouds and keep them clear of the gunwales.

(Obsolete) Death.

To make or cut channels in.

A slow cadenced trot in which the horse raises and returns to the ground first one diagonal pair of feet, then the other.

To form a groove or flute in.

To execute such a trot in dressage.

To direct or guide along some desired course

To cause (a horse) to execute such a trot in dressage.

To serve as a medium for (a spirit guide).

A paragraph or section of text or music with particular meaning.

To use or follow as a model; imitate

Part of a path or journey.

The physical confine of a river or slough, consisting of a bed and banks.

An incident or episode.

The natural or man-made deeper course through a reef, bar, bay, or any shallow body of water.

The official approval of a bill or act by a parliament.

The navigable part of a river.

The advance of time.

A narrow body of water between two land masses.

(art) The use of tight brushwork to link objects in separate spatial plains. Commonly seen in Cubist works.

Something through which another thing passes; a means of conveying or transmitting.

A passageway or corridor.

A gutter; a groove, as in a fluted column.

(nautical) A strait or other narrow waterway.

A structural member with a cross section shaped like a squared-off letter C.

(caving) An underground cavity, formed by water or falling rocks, which is much longer than it is wide.

(electronics) A connection between initiating and terminating nodes of a circuit.

(euphemistic) The vagina.

(electronics) The narrow conducting portion of a MOSFET transistor.

The act of passing; movement across or through.

(communication) The part that connects a data source to a data sink.

The right to pass from one place to another.

(communication) A path for conveying electrical or electromagnetic signals, usually distinguished from other parallel paths.

A fee paid for passing or for being conveyed between places.

(communication) A single path provided by a transmission medium via physical separation, such as by multipair cable.

Serial passage.

(communication) A single path provided by a transmission medium via spectral or protocol separation, such as by frequency or time-division multiplexing.

A gambling game for two players using three dice, in which the object is to throw a double over ten.

(broadcasting) A specific radio frequency or band of frequencies, usually in conjunction with a predetermined letter, number, or codeword, and allocated by international agreement.

(dressage) A movement in classical dressage, in which the horse performs a very collected, energetic, and elevated trot that has a longer period of suspension between each foot fall than a working trot.

(broadcasting) A specific radio frequency or band of frequencies used for transmitting television.

(medicine) To pass something, such as a pathogen or stem cell, through a host or medium.

(storage) The portion of a storage medium, such as a track or a band, that is accessible to a given reading or writing station or head.

(rare) To make a passage, especially by sea; to cross.

The part of a turbine pump where the pressure is built up.

To execute a passage movement.

A distribution channel

Of a bird: Less than a year old but living on its own, having left the nest.

(Internet) A particular area for conversations on an IRC network, analogous to a chat room and often dedicated to a specific topic.

The act of passing; transit from one place to another; movement from point to point; a going by, over, across, or through; as, the passage of a man or a carriage; the passage of a ship or a bird; the passage of light; the passage of fluids through the pores or channels of the body.

A means of delivering up-to-date Internet content.

Transit by means of conveyance; journey, as by water, carriage, car, or the like; travel; right, liberty, or means, of passing; conveyance.

A psychic or medium who temporarily takes on the personality of somebody else.

Price paid for the liberty to pass; fare; as, to pay one's passage.

(nautical) The wale of a sailing ship which projects beyond the gunwale and to which the shrouds attach via the chains. One of the flat ledges of heavy plank bolted edgewise to the outside of a vessel, to increase the spread of the shrouds and carry them clear of the bulwarks.

Removal from life; decease; departure; death.

(transitive) To make or cut a channel or groove in.

Way; road; path; channel or course through or by which one passes; way of exit or entrance; way of access or transit. Hence, a common avenue to various apartments in a building; a hall; a corridor.

(transitive) To direct or guide along a desired course.

A continuous course, process, or progress; a connected or continuous series; as, the passage of time.

To serve as a medium for.

A separate part of a course, process, or series; an occurrence; an incident; an act or deed.

(transitive) To follow as a model, especially in a performance.

A particular portion constituting a part of something continuous; esp., a portion of a book, speech, or musical composition; a paragraph; a clause.

The hollow bed where a stream of water runs or may run.

Reception; currency.

The deeper part of a river, harbor, strait, etc., where the main current flows, or which affords the best and safest passage for vessels.

A pass or en encounter; as, a passage at arms.

A strait, or narrow sea, between two portions of lands; as, the British Channel.

A movement or an evacuation of the bowels.

That through which anything passes; a means of passing, conveying, or transmitting; as, the news was conveyed to us by different channels.

In parliamentary proceedings: (a) The course of a proposition (bill, resolution, etc.) through the several stages of consideration and action; as, during its passage through Congress the bill was amended in both Houses. (b) The advancement of a bill or other proposition from one stage to another by an affirmative vote; esp., the final affirmative action of the body upon a proposition; hence, adoption; enactment; as, the passage of the bill to its third reading was delayed.

A gutter; a groove, as in a fluted column.

The act of passing from one state or place to the next

Flat ledges of heavy plank bolted edgewise to the outside of a vessel, to increase the spread of the shrouds and carry them clear of the bulwarks.

A section of text; particularly a section of medium length

Official routes of communication, especially the official means by which information should be transmitted in a bureaucracy; as, to submit a request through channels; you have to go through channels.

A way through or along which someone or something may pass

A band of electromagnetic wave frequencies that is used for one-way or two-way radio communication; especially, the frequency bands assigned by the FTC for use in television broadcasting, and designated by a specific number; as, channel 2 in New York is owned by CBS.

The passing of a law by a legislative body

One of the signals in an electronic device which receives or sends more than one signal simultaneously, as in stereophonic radios, records, or CD players, or in measuring equipment which gathers multiple measurements simultaneously.

A journey usually by ship;

An opening in a cell membrane which serves to actively transport or allow passive transport of substances across the membrane; as, an ion channel in a nerve cell.

A short section of a musical composition

A path for transmission of signals between devices within a computer or between a computer and an external device; as, a DMA channel.

A path or channel or duct through or along which something may pass;

To form a channel in; to cut or wear a channel or channels in; to groove.

A bodily process of passing from one place or stage to another;

To course through or over, as in a channel.

The motion of one object relative to another;

A path over which electrical signals can pass;

The act of passing something to another person

A passage for water (or other fluids) to flow through;

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)

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;

(often plural) a means of communication or access;

A bodily passage or tube lined with epithelial cells and conveying a secretion or other substance;

A television station and its programs;

A way of selling a company's product either directly or via distributors;

Transmit or serve as the medium for transmission;

Direct the flow of;

Send from one person or place to another;

A channel refers to a natural or man-made waterway for navigation, while a passage can be any route through which one passes, including geographical features like straits.

Channels support business operations by facilitating the distribution of goods and services to consumers, enhancing reach and efficiency.

In communication, a channel is the medium through which messages are transmitted from sender to receiver.

In literature, a passage is significant for its content, thematic importance, or its contribution to the overall narrative or argument of the text.

In music, a passage refers to a specific section or piece of a musical composition, often highlighted for its melody, harmony, or emotional impact.

"Safe passage" implies a secure and unobstructed way through a potentially hazardous area, often used in the context of travel, migration, or conflict zones.

Yes, in some contexts, a channel can be a type of passage, especially when referring to natural or artificial waterways.

No, a passage can also refer to non-physical concepts like the passage of time or a passage in a book.

In architecture, passages are crucial for designing functional and navigable spaces, facilitating movement, and connecting different areas within a structure.

Yes, the concept of a channel can be applied metaphorically to describe any means of transmission or passage, such as "channels of communication" or "channels of influence".

In technology, channels are vital for data transmission, ensuring that information can be shared effectively and securely between devices or systems.

Channel management is crucial in marketing for optimizing the distribution of products, ensuring that goods are available to the right consumers at the right time.

In environmental science, channels are studied for their role in ecosystems, water management, and the impact of human-made channels on natural habitats.

Digital channels have transformed communication by enabling instant, global transmission of information, expanding accessibility, and creating new forms of interaction.

Yes, passages can have cultural significance, especially when they are part of ceremonial practices, rituals, or historical narratives.