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"
(Christianity) the abode of Satan and the forces of evil; where sinners suffer eternal punishment; "Hurl'd headlong...To bottomless perdition, there to dwell"- John Milton; "a demon from the depths of the pit"
a cause of difficulty and suffering; "war is hell"; "go to blazes"
any place of pain and turmoil; "the hell of battle"; "the inferno of the engine room"; "when you're alone Christmas is the pits";
an imaginary line around the Earth forming the great circle that is equidistant from the north and south poles; "the equator is the boundary between the northern and southern hemispheres"
a circle dividing a sphere or other surface into two usually equal and symmetrical parts
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