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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in pivotal
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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
Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 31 Mar. 2026
Long Run Creek is a smaller portion of the watershed that begins at Tampier Lake in Orland Park and flows west toward the Illinois and Michigan Canal and into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, said village engineer Brett Westcott.
—Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2026
There’s a watershed moment that still sticks with Wild general manager Bill Guerin however many years later.
—Dane Mizutani, Twin Cities, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for watershed
Noun
But the Salt River system is unlike the Colorado River watershed, whose reservoirs are entirely at the mercy of winter snow to replenish them.
—Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 31 Mar. 2026
Long Run Creek is a smaller portion of the watershed that begins at Tampier Lake in Orland Park and flows west toward the Illinois and Michigan Canal and into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, said village engineer Brett Westcott.
—Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
The water agency then separated the proposal into separate bids between the watershed center and an infrastructure improvement project at the Sunol Yard.
—Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2026
There’s a watershed moment that still sticks with Wild general manager Bill Guerin however many years later.
—Dane Mizutani, Twin Cities, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for watershed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for watershed
Noun
-
The film Project Hail Mary has just blasted past the milestone of $400 million revenue globally and is generating early Oscar buzz.—
Tara Haelle,
NPR,
12 Apr. 2026
-
In recent months, Rumen noted, about 200,000 people dropped from the emergency phase to the acute one, a significant milestone.—
Evens Sanon,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The roots of the day, also celebrated as International Workers Day, go back over a century to a turbulent and pivotal time in labor history.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Plenty of old faces return for brief scenes while new faces play more pivotal roles (including Anthony Timpano as Jamie, an infant in the original series, and Vaughan Murrae as Kelly, the result of Lois’ series-finale pregnancy reveal).—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
That climax is sufficiently creepy.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Biff shouts at him at the show’s excruciating climax) sways between light and dark, between the road and the deadly shoulder, advancing through his last hours on earth as if through the stations of the cross.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Its demographics have also undergone an epochal shift.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Like nuclear-fission research, machine learning was a small scientific field with epochal implications which was dominated by a cadre of eccentric geniuses.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Since the landmark decision, companies have filed thousands of lawsuits with the Court of International Trade (CIT) seeking tariff refunds.—
Megan Cerullo,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Last week, a coalition of more than 30 state attorneys general won a landmark monopolization case against Live Nation, the owner of Ticketmaster.—
Gail Slater,
Rolling Stone,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Wyatt Johnston scored the decisive shootout goal and the Dallas Stars posted their third consecutive 50-win season with a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Deni Avdija countered with a close-range finish, and after Jordan Goodwin’s reverse layup gave Phoenix the edge in the final 30 seconds, Avdija delivered the decisive blow.—
Doug Haller,
New York Times,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
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
Adjective
-
November was a momentous month for Bakhrani.—
Sarah Jackson
Mickey Todiwala,
CNBC,
10 Apr. 2026
-
But underneath an impressive resume with an equally impressive guest list lies a relentless fuel to make music that’s just as momentous.—
DeAsia Paige,
AJC.com,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Watershed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watershed. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
