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Definitions

backwater

[bak-waw-ter, -wot-er] / ˈbækˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər /


ADJECTIVE
back country
Synonyms




Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When I visited Xingguo, it remained an economic backwater.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

Ms. Allen concedes their regionalism but argues that they were wiser for understanding that a “provincial backwater offers as full a panoply of human folly, nobility, tragedy, and absurdity as any great metropolis.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

Her persona is part space alien, part naïf of some Baltic backwater.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 21, 2025

Western adventurers have been turning up in Bali since the early 20th Century, when it was seen as an exotic backwater, home to Hindu temples and rice fields.

From BBC • Sep. 27, 2025

The university was then almost as much of a physics backwater as Berkeley had been when Lawrence first set foot on its campus, especially in comparison to its Cambridge neighbor, MIT.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik




Vocabulary lists containing backwater