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# backwater

noun (a backwater, backwaters)

«backwater» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A part of a river where the water is still or slow, away from the main current, often behind a bend or a weir. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backwater/#m1)
2. A quiet place, such as a small town, where not much happens and new ideas arrive slowly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backwater/#m2)

### In the lessons

In The Wind in the Willows, Ratty and Mole row along the river and into quiet backwaters among the reeds and willows; one backwater leads to the weir where they meet the Piper at the Gates of Dawn and find little Portly. In geography, a backwater is calm, so mud settles and plants grow. In everyday talk, calling a town a backwater can be unkind, meaning it is dull or old-fashioned.

### Examples

- Ratty steered the boat into a quiet backwater. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backwater/#x1)
- Water lilies grew in the still backwater. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backwater/#x2)
- Ducks dabbled in the backwater, away from the strong current. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backwater/#x3)
- My uncle says his village is a sleepy backwater. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backwater/#x4)
- The backwater was full of reeds and dragonflies. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backwater/#x5)
- They tied up the boat in a little backwater for lunch. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backwater/#x6)
- Fish rest in backwaters when the river is in flood. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backwater/#x7)

### Note

Countable: a backwater. It is one word. Calling a place a backwater is a judgement, sometimes rude.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «backwater» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backwater/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«backwater» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/backwater.html) on Mova free.