watershed 1 of 2

noun

ˈwȯ-tər-ˌshed How to pronounce watershed (audio)
Definition of watershednext
as in milestone
a point in a chain of events at which an important change (as in one's fortunes) occurs a watershed moment in her life came when she inherited a reasonable sum of money and was able to start her own coffee shop

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watershed

2 of 2

adjective

as in pivotal

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of watershed
Noun
In Michigan, the only state entirely within the watershed, officials are testing 200 tributaries for microplastics. — Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026 Wildfires also affect the watersheds that sustain humans and wildlife across the country. — Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Adjective
The unanimous ruling was seen by supporters of self-identification as a watershed moment, pushing India ahead of much of South Asia on transgender rights. — Aakash Hassan, Christian Science Monitor, 31 July 2026 The watershed department, days after the June 27 incident, said the chemical spill at the South River facility did not cause the fish kill. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 29 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for watershed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for watershed
  1. milestone
  2. pivotal
  3. climax
  4. epochal
  5. landmark
  6. decisive
  7. payoff
  8. momentous
Noun
  • Give the group one concrete milestone and a way to check progress.
    — Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 12 Sep. 2026
  • The 25th anniversary of the terrorist attack has brought a new wave of commemoration, with planners scaling up events to make the milestone more impactful.
    — Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of milestone
Adjective
  • While the 23-year-old Thompson is a pivotal player for the Rockets, he was not selected to either an All-Star or All-NBA team last season.
    — Hunter Patterson, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • At a pivotal moment in the film, Ledger’s Joker positions a pencil on a table, and later slams a man’s head into it.
    — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of pivotal
Noun
  • At this point occurs the climax of the tale, Ichabod’s encounter with the headless horseman, whom the reader assumes is Brom Bones playing a mischievous trick on him.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Regardless of whether players and fans believe the series features one Link or multiple Links across the convoluted timeline posited in the Hyrule Historia, each of these games ends at a moment of frustrated erotic climax.
    — Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of climax
Adjective
  • The former touts Mohamed Salah, an epochal star with ample motivation after his fraught final campaign with Liverpool.
    — Christopher Hamill, New York Times, 15 June 2026
  • The Cane Ridge Revival would become an epochal moment in American religious history, one of the most visible manifestations of what historians would later refer to as the Second Great Awakening.
    — Michael Luo, New Yorker, 14 June 2026
Definition of epochal
Noun
  • Nearly a quarter of the buildings in Manhattan are under some landmark protections, and in some neighborhoods, like the Upper West Side and Berman’s Village, more than 70 percent of the area is under landmark protections.
    — David Freedlander, Curbed, 11 Sep. 2026
  • While in Congress, Becerra was a strong advocate and supporter of the Affordable Care Act, a landmark healthcare overhaul championed by former President Obama.
    — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of landmark
Adjective
  • In hindsight, making a decisive call at 2-2, in the 55th minute, five minutes before 3-2, would have been prudent.
    — Beren Cross, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The factory should focus on customers for whom its automation creates a decisive advantage.
    — Dhanush Bakthavatchalam, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of decisive
Adjective
  • There’s little sense of forward motion in these tracks, but even when simply drifting in place, the blend of atmosphere and physicality—sunset glow meets seismic throb—is payoff enough.
    — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Not wrong for much of the last three decades — but Saturday night’s gig, and all the joyous revelry surrounding it, showed why the Live ’25 Tour has been payoff enough for none of them to look back in anger at any of it.
    — Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 17 Aug. 2025
Definition of payoff
Adjective
  • What to the other parties was merely the sale of a ship was to him a momentous event involving a radically new view of existence.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Or what about storming the field, the tradition that follows a momentous win, when order dissolves and players brace themselves for a horde of fans pouring out of the stands.
    — Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of momentous

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waters down
watershed
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Cite this Entry

“Watershed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watershed. Accessed 15 Sep. 2026.

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