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"
an unbridgeable disparity (as from a failure of understanding); "he felt a gulf between himself and his former friends"; "there is a vast disconnect between public opinion and federal policy"
a deep wide chasm
an arm of a sea or ocean partly enclosed by land; larger than a bay