backwater.
The water held back by a dam or other obstruction.
Meaning & usage
The water held back by a dam or other obstruction.
A remote place: somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc; any field of endeavor that figuratively resembles such a place.
an academic backwater
A rowing stroke in which the oar is pushed forward to stop the boat; see back water
Water used in the papermaking process. Recycled to reduce usage of fresh water, and usually containing residual amounts of chemicals and fibres.
Where this word comes from
From back + water.
To row or paddle a backwater stroke.
To vacillate on a long-held position.
Where this word comes from
From back + water.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.