backwater

/ˈbæˌkwɔtər/

Other forms: backwaters

Backwater is water that’s stagnant and out of the current. It’s a still pool created by a dam or a curve in the river. If a small town is described as backwater, then not much happens or changes there.

The word backwater has been around since the 14th Century meaning “water behind a dam.” Now it refers to any flat water, not just the water behind a dam. Backwater can also describe a place or situation that seems stuck in a rut, unmoved by current events. Literally, backwater is water that’s away from the current; figuratively, backwater is a place that’s away from current events.

Definitions of backwater

1. 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”

   type of:

   body of water, water

   the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean)
2. noun

   a place or condition in which no development or progress is occurring
   “the country is an economic backwater”

   type of:

   region

   a large indefinite location on the surface of the Earth