backwater

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.

In 2020, he became sector chief for the El Centro region, a sleepy California stretch considered a backwater because so few immigrants attempt to cross illegally there.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 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

It had about three houses, and right in the middle there was a sign over a building saying “Casino,” and it had a slot machine in, so it was a real American backwater.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2025

"Denmark can be a great ally, but you can't treat Greenland, which they have operational control over, as some kind of backwater - it's in the Western hemisphere."

From BBC • Jan. 9, 2025

She snorts and says that it’s out of the kindness of her heart that she lives in this backwater town and helps these country people and that one day she’ll reap her just reward.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau