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.

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 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 …

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 …

Nov 26, 2025 · A backwater is a section of a river, stream, or other channel connected to the main body of water but characterized by a minimal or absent current. This reduced flow velocity …

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 …

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.

Definition of backwater noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.