the English Channel
/ði ˌɪŋɡlɪʃ ˈtʃænl/
/ði ˌɪŋɡlɪʃ ˈtʃænl/
(also the Channel)
- the area of sea between southern England and northern France. CultureAlthough it is so narrow at one point (less than 21 miles/33 kilometres) that some people have swum across it and on a clear day it is possible to see Calais from Dover, the English Channel has always formed a physical and cultural barrier between Britain and the rest of Europe. The first person to swim the Channel was Captain Matthew Webb (1848-83) in 1875 and in 1926 an American, Gertrude Ederle, became the first woman to do so.
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
the English Channel