backwater Hear it!

backwater definition

back·water (-wôt′ər)

noun

  1. water moved backward or held back by a dam, tide, etc.
  2. stagnant water in a small stream or inlet
  3. a place or condition regarded as stagnant, backward, etc. a cultural backwater

adjective

like a backwater; backward

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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