Water backed up or retarded in its course as compared with its normal or natural condition of flow In stream gaging, a rise in stage produced by a temporary obstruction such as ice or weeds, or by the flooding of the stream below The difference between the observed stage and that indicated by the stage-discharge relation, isreported as backwater
a section of water with an elevation that is increased above normal because of a condition downstream (such as a flood or an ice jam) or because of stream-width contraction beneath a bridge)
(1) A small, generally shallow body of water attached to the main channel, with little or no current of its own, or (2) A condition in subcritical flow where the water surface elevation is raised by downstream flow impediments
disapproval If you refer to a place or institution as a backwater, you think it is not developing properly because it is isolated from ideas and events in other places and institutions. Britain could become a political backwater with no serious influence in the world
any backward region that is isolated from the world and resists progress 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
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"