watershed

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noun wa·ter·shed \ ˈwȯ-tər-ˌshed , ˈwä- \

Definition of watershed

1 a :divide 2a

b :a region or area bounded peripherally by a divide and draining ultimately to a particular watercourse or body of water

2 :a crucial dividing point, line, or factor :turning point

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watershed

adjective

See watershed defined for English-language learners

See watershed defined for kids

watershed was our Word of the Day on 03/23/2017. Hear the podcast!

Examples of watershed in a Sentence

The show will not air until after the nine o'clock watershed.
a watershed moment in her life came when she inherited a reasonable sum of money and was able to start her own coffee shop

Recent Examples of watershed from the Web

The 27-year-old publication closely tracks developments in the health of the Chesapeake and efforts across the six states in the bay watershed to reduce pollution.

— scott dance, baltimoresun.com, "EPA cuts funding for Chesapeake Bay Journal, threatening publication's future," 23 Aug. 2017
Of all the analogies that come up in discussing blockchains, perhaps the most frequently cited is the design, in the 1970s, of TCP/IP—the watershed networking protocol that enabled computers to talk to one another and swap data and info.

— robert hackett, Fortune, "Why Big Business Is Racing to Build Blockchains," 22 Aug. 2017
From watershed wins in the Hunt Cup to being outscored 9-0 in its last two USL games.

— paul daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Doc: When should winning matter for Reds?," 21 Aug. 2017
Construction of a 1.7-mile long berm at the Eagle Marsh Nature Preserve in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to keep invasive Asian carp from transferring between the watersheds of the Wabash River in Indiana and the Lake Erie watershed in Ohio.

— sabrina eaton, cleveland.com, "U.S. EPA praises Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, 3 months after trying to eliminate program," 8 Aug. 2017
Heavy rain Saturday night saturated the ground in the Indian Creek watershed that runs from Olathe through Leawood and into Kansas City.

— scott canon and shane sanderson, kansascity, "When will Indian Creek’s flooding be fixed?," 27 July 2017
Kings Branch is a tributary to Sugar Creek in the Catawba River watershed.

— joe marusak, charlotteobserver, "Avoid popular stretch of Catawba River after sewage spill, riverkeeper urges," 14 July 2017
Parasites, viruses and bacteria from feces can make their way into the watershed and lurk, invisible, until hikers slurp them up.

— sammy caiola, sacbee.com, "Mountain water may look clear, but don’t trust it," 4 July 2017
That’s why this case is indeed a watershed for Catholicism and Francis himself.

— andrew sullivan, Daily Intelligencer, "Cardinal Pell and the Vatican’s Day of Reckoning," 30 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'watershed.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

watershed Has Geographic Origins

Opinion on the literal geographic meaning of "watershed" is divided. On one side of the debate are those who think the word can only refer to a ridge of land separating rivers and streams flowing in one direction from those flowing in the opposite direction. That's the term's original meaning, one probably borrowed in the translation of the German Wasserscheide. On the other side of the argument are those who think "watershed" can also apply to the area through which such divided water flows. The latter sense is now far more common in America, but most Americans have apparently decided to leave the quarrel to geologists and geographers while they use the term in its figurative sense, "turning point."

First Known Use of watershed

1764

watershed Synonyms

Synonyms

climacteric, climax, corner, landmark, milepost, milestone, turning point

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

WATERSHED Defined for English Language Learners

watershed

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noun

Definition of watershed for English Language Learners

: a time when an important change happens
: a line of hills or mountains from which rivers drain : a ridge between two rivers
: the area of land that includes a particular river or lake and all the rivers, streams, etc., that flow into it