Backward Pawns
A pawn is backward when two things are both true at once: its neighboring pawns have already advanced past the point where they could ever again slide back to defend it, and the square directly in front of it is controlled by an enemy pawn, so advancing would just lose it. The pawn is trapped exactly where it stands -- it can't move forward safely, and it can never be defended by another pawn.
This combination makes backward pawns one of the most persistent long-term weaknesses in chess. Unlike an isolated pawn (which at least has open files on both sides to work with), a backward pawn usually sits on a half-open file that the opponent's rook can occupy, staring straight down at a pawn that can never move and can never be shored up. Strong opponents will often maneuver a knight or rook to blockade the square right in front of it, then pile up pressure at leisure.
The fix, when there is one, is usually to prepare the advance carefully (trading off the pawn that's currently controlling the square in front) before the backward pawn becomes a permanent target -- once the position locks in place, the weakness tends to stay for the rest of the game.
Worked examples
Mutual backward pawns (d2 and c4)
White's d2 pawn is stuck behind c5/e5 with d3 covered by Black's c4 pawn; Black's c4 pawn is symmetrically stuck, with c3 covered by White's d2 pawn.
A single backward pawn (b2)
White's b2 pawn has no support left on a4 or c4, and its advance square b3 is covered by Black's c4 pawn -- backward. Black's c4, though, is protected from the same fate by the reserve pawn on d6.
Test yourself
Click both backward pawns (one per side).
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