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 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.

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 distinguishes it …

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" …

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.

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

Dec 14, 2025 · backwater (plural backwaters) The water held back by a dam or other obstruction. quotations

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 …

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.