backwater

noun

back·​wa·​ter ˈbak-ˌwȯ-tər 

-ˌwä-

1

a

: water backed up in its course by an obstruction, an opposing current, or the tide

b

: a body of water (such as an inlet or tributary) that is out of the main current of a larger body

2

a

: an isolated or backward place or condition

b

: an unpopular or unimportant field (as of study or business)

Synonyms

• backcountry
• backland(s)
• backwoods
• bush
• frontier
• hinterland
• outback
• outlands
• up-country

Examples of backwater in a Sentence

The once sleepy backwater is now a thriving city.

a distant backwater that didn't even have electricity at that time

Recent Examples on the Web

To me, the backwaters permeate every aspect of life at the hotel, from the best rooms to book, which have the most panoramic views, to the food at Keraleeyam, the hotel’s primary restaurant. —Prasad Ramamurthy, Travel + Leisure, 15 Sep. 2024

Competent to the point of being threatening to his Metropolitan Police superiors (a meta hierarchy of Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan, and Bill Nighy), the Londoner is banished to a Gloucestershire backwater. —Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 16 July 2024

The project will reconnect the backwater channel to the main channel by dredging, and install a sediment diverter so sediment can't keep piling up, Miller said. —Madeline Heim, Journal Sentinel, 24 May 2024

With poor reviews out of Cannes and hardly enthusiastic ones stateside that October, Daniels’ backwater noir was never set up for success. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1629, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

backwater

noun

back·​wa·​ter ˈbak-ˌwȯt-ər 

-ˌwät-

1

: water held or turned back from its course

2

: a backward place or condition