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.
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
Dakota Adams - he and his mother now use her maiden name - spent much of his earliest years not in the backwoods of Montana, but in the middle of America's east coast power centres.
From BBC • Nov. 29, 2022
A brash backwoods maverick with a wavy blond pompadour and an arrogant sneer, Lewis brought nervy authority and a personal stamp to his unruly concoction of country, gospel, and rhythm and blues.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2022
“I almost didn’t believe it when we got word some redcoats nearly caught you in the Oxscinian backwoods, but here you are.”
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
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.
