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Synonyms

back country

American  

noun

  1. a sparsely populated rural region remote from a settled area.

  2. Australian. a remote, undeveloped part of a large farm or cattle station.

back country British  

noun

  1. land remote from a town or settled area

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • back-country adjective

Etymology

Origin of back country

First recorded in 1740–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They include areas popular with hillwalkers, climbers and back country skiers.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026

“If we head into the back country, avalanches are not being knocked down for us.”

From New York Times • Mar. 12, 2024

Wallace’s book is illustrated with William’s extraordinary cartoons — detailed maps of rivers and back country, white-water guidance, character satires, first-aid instructions including “Swimming Self-rescue.”

From Washington Post • Apr. 13, 2023

He loved to mountain bike with his father, Bill, and he seemed to dance when he skied in the back country, according to his childhood friend Adam Kingman.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2023

And who will they find to take food from out in the back country?

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.