Backwater
['bækwɔːtə] or ['bækwɔtɚ]
Definition
(noun.) a place or condition in which no development or progress is occurring; 'the country is an economic backwater'.
(noun.) 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'.
Checker: Victoria--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) Water turned back in its course by an obstruction, an opposing current , or the flow of the tide, as in a sewer or river channel, or across a river bar.
(n.) An accumulation of water overflowing the low lands, caused by an obstruction.
(n.) Water thrown back by the turning of a waterwheel, or by the paddle wheels of a steamer.
Checker: Stan
Examples
- Desert Arabia was in a theological backwater. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- This is what he says: 'MY DEAR Mr. SHERLOCK HOLMES:--Lord Backwater tells me that I may place implicit reliance upon your judgment and discretion. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- It was found disadvantageous to have an entire convolution of the thread of the screw; for one part of it worked in the wake of the other, and resistance was produced by the backwater. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- Lord Backwater's Desborough. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- In half an hour we had reached Pitt Street, a quiet little backwater just beside one of the briskest currents of London life. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- And the problem of a forecast is complicated by the possibilities of interludes and backwaters. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Editor: Whitney