The meaning of BACKWATER is water backed up in its course by an obstruction, an opposing current, or the tide. How to use backwater in a sentence.

When a section of a river is near the coast or another feature that sets its base level, the section influenced by the conditions at its mouth is termed a backwater.

BACKWATER meaning: 1 : a part of a river where the water moves slowly because it is away from the main part of the river; 2 : a quiet place (such as a town or village) where there is little activity, …

If you refer to a place or institution as a backwater, you think it is not developing properly because it is isolated from ideas and events in other places and institutions.

BACKWATER definition: 1. a part of a river where the water does not flow: 2. a place that does not change because it is…. Learn more.

A place or situation regarded as isolated, stagnant, or backward: "The running of family fortunes has always been a backwater—albeit a lucrative one—of the investment management business" …

Backwater is water that’s stagnant and out of the current. It’s a still pool created by a dam or a curve in the river. If a small town is described as backwater, then not much happens or changes there. The …

Dec 14, 2025 · backwater (third-person singular simple present backwaters, present participle backwatering, simple past and past participle backwatered) To row or paddle a backwater stroke.

Backwater definition: A place or situation regarded as isolated, stagnant, or backward.

back•wa•ter /ˈbækˌwɔtɚ, -ˌwɑtɚ/ n. Hydraulics [uncountable] water held or forced back, as by a dam. [countable] a place or condition of backwardness: a cultural backwater.