backwoods
Americanplural noun
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partially cleared, sparsely populated forests
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any remote sparsely populated place
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(modifier) of, from, or like the backwoods
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(modifier) uncouth; rustic
Etymology
Origin of backwoods
An Americanism dating back to 1700–10; back 1 + woods 1 (in the sense “a forest”)
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.
The era of mega-fires is causing a little noticed climate migration that is reshaping life for thousands of people in California’s backwoods, pushing small, self-reliant mountain communities to the brink of extinction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
A hiker who was lost in the backwoods of British Columbia for more than five weeks has been found alive.
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2024
Rust Cohle slow dances with murmurings about Carcosa in Season 1, and the anthology’s creator Nic Pizzolatto spiced up the mystique by depositing backwoods fetishes near crime scenes.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2024
Doing so doesn’t require traipsing into the backwoods of Louisiana listening for a double-knock call that may never come.
From Slate ● May 27, 2023
The Swedish film crew was eager to meet the challenge of finding Walter's trailer in the backwoods of South Alabama.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
