continue to live; endure or last; "We went without water and food for 3 days"; "These superstitions survive in the backwaters of America"; "The race car driver lived through several very serious accidents"; "how long can a person last without food and water?"
continue in existence after (an adversity, etc.); "He survived the cancer against all odds"
make a counterattack and return like for like, especially evil for evil; "The Empire strikes back"; "The Giants struck back and won the opener"; "The Israeli army retaliated for the Hamas bombing"
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 device designed to provide additional strength; "the cardboard backing was just a strengthener"; "he used gummed reinforcements to hold the page in his notebook"