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backwater

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Backwater
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back⋅wa⋅ter

  [bak-waw-ter, -wot-er]
Use backwater in a Sentence
–noun
1. water held or forced back, as by a dam, flood, or tide.
2. a place or state of stagnant backwardness: This area of the country is a backwater that continues to resist progress.
3. an isolated, peaceful place.
4. a stroke executed by pushing a paddle forward, causing a canoe to move backward.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME bakwateres; see back 2 , water
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Backwater
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back·wa·ter   (bāk'wô'tər, -wŏt'ər)   
n.  

    1. Water held or pushed back by or as if by a dam or current.

    2. A body of water thus formed.

  2. A place or situation regarded as isolated, stagnant, or backward: "The running of family fortunes has always been a backwater—albeit a lucrative one—of the investment management business" (Business Week).

  3. A rowing or paddling stroke in which the oar or paddle is pushed forward, used to check a boat's forward motion or move it backward.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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