Get the FREE one-click dictionary software for Windows
or the iPhone/iPad and Android apps
Noun: backwater  'bak,wo-tu(r)
  1. 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"
     
  2. A place or condition in which no development or progress is occurring
    "the country is an economic backwater"

Derived forms: backwaters

Type of: body of water, region, water

Encyclopedia: Backwater, New South Wales