Definition

1. Noun:
   • A place or condition characterized by lack of development or progress: A "backwater" is a place or situation that is isolated, stagnant, and not influenced by new ideas or modern developments.
   • A body of water with little or no current: A "backwater" is a part of a river, stream, or other body of water that is not flowing, often because it is cut off from the main current or held back by an obstruction.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Place/Condition):
  • The small town was considered a cultural backwater.
  • The company's research department had become an intellectual backwater.
• Noun (Body of Water):
  • We canoed through the peaceful backwaters of the delta.
  • Mosquitoes breed in stagnant backwaters.

Advanced Usage

• "to be/live in a backwater": to exist in a place that is remote and undeveloped.
  • He felt his career was stuck because he was working in a professional backwater.
• Used metaphorically: Often used to describe institutions, fields of study, or technologies that are outdated.
  • That programming language is now a technological backwater.

Variants and Related Words

• Backwater (as an adjective, informal): Used attributively to describe something characteristic of a backwater.
  • a backwater town
• Backwatered (verb, rare): The past tense of the rare verb "to backwater," meaning to row backwards or to cause water to flow back.
  • The crew backwatered quickly to avoid the rock.

Synonyms

• Noun (Place/Condition): Stagnation, hinterland, backwoods, provincial area.
• Noun (Body of Water): Stagnant water, slack water, bayou, oxbow lake.

Related Phrases

• "economic backwater": an area with little economic activity or growth.
  • The region transformed from an economic backwater into a hub of innovation.
• "cultural backwater": a place lacking in cultural activity or sophistication.
  • She moved to the city to escape the cultural backwater of her hometown.

Idioms

• "a backwater of history": a place or period that is forgotten or has seen no progress.
  • The ancient village remained a backwater of history, untouched by the modern world.

Noun

1. a place or condition in which no development or progress is occurring
   • the country is an economic backwater
2. a body of water that was created by a flood or tide or by being held or forced back by a dam
   • the bayous and backwaters are breeding grounds for mosquitos