Meaning of Backwater | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A locality in the Armidale council area, north-eastern New South Wales, Australia.
2. The water held back by a dam or other obstruction.
3. A remote place: somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc; any field of endeavor that figuratively resembles such a place.
   figuratively, idiomatic, usually
4. A rowing stroke in which the oar is pushed forward to stop the boat; see back water
5. Water used in the papermaking process. Recycled to reduce usage of fresh water, and usually containing residual amounts of chemicals and fibres.

Equivalents

Examples

“[…] The backwater separates the main line from Hinksey marshalling yards”

“Near-synonyms: (place) jerkwater town, one-horse town, Podunk; see also Thesaurus:remote place”

“an academic backwater”

“Usually, however, this line, which once had a monopoly of all the traffic to Bournemouth, is a quiet backwater carrying a purely local traffic.”

“It's a volume for those who delight in exploring the backwaters of nineteenth-century opera.”

“Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.”

“What was once the industrial heart of Uruguay is now a quiet riverside backwater where nothing much happens—the shops don't bother to open until midday and not at all if it's raining.”

“In the 19th century silt deposits began to block the harbour, and the city began to decline. To make matters worse, conservative elements in Lukang refused in the early 20th century to allow trains and modern highways to be built near their city. Lukang became a backwater, only to be reborn decades later when modern Taiwanese began to search for a living connection with the past.”

“The Hope Valley, while scenic, is no quiet backwater. There's no sign it will ever be one either.”

“The back-water (overflow) can be used for "thinning down" the chests when emptying. If "Wastive" does this, his mind will be at ease regarding waste of pulp, and his machine-men will be happy and do their work much better than by trying to use all the back-water on the paper machine.”

CEFR level