watershed
Americannoun
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Chiefly British. the ridge or crest line dividing two drainage areas; water parting; divide.
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the region or area drained by a river, stream, etc.; drainage area.
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Architecture. wash.
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an important point of division or transition between two phases, conditions, etc..
The treaty to ban war in space may prove to be one of history's great watersheds.
adjective
noun
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the dividing line between two adjacent river systems, such as a ridge
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an important period or factor that serves as a dividing line
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A continuous ridge of high ground forming a divide between two different drainage basins or river systems.
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The region enclosed by such a divide and draining into a river, river system, or other body of water.
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By extension, a “watershed” is a critical point that serves as a dividing line: “The parties reached a watershed in the contract negotiations.”
Etymology
Origin of watershed
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.
But across 11 western states, 45% of the region is in at least a moderate drought, and large portions of the Colorado River watershed are in severe drought.
From Los Angeles Times
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the reforms would be a "watershed moment" for children, and a "major milestone in this government's mission to make sure opportunity is for each and every child".
From BBC
The end of New Start is a watershed moment in American nuclear strategy.
That would be a watershed for the European Union, which even in increasingly protectionist times has steered clear of local-content rules.
Those decisions could mark a watershed moment for a country where the government’s ability to deliver basic services has become so limited that private firms have taken over many basic civic functions.
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.
