Watershed
adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 The topographical boundary dividing two adjacent catchment basins, such as a ridge or a crest. Australia, Ireland, New-Zealand, UK
"After Lesjaverk (23 miles) the eastern end of Lesjaskogsvatn is reached. This lake has the distinction of being a watershed. From the east end flows the Lågen, the great river that runs down Gudbrandsdal to Lake Mjøsa, while from the west end the Rauma River emerges to flow down to the Romsdalfjord."
- 2 an event marking a unique or important historical change of course or one on which important developments depend wordnet
- 3 A region of land within which water flows down into a specified body, such as a river, lake, sea, or ocean; a drainage basin. Canada, US
- 4 the entire geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries; an area characterized by all runoff being conveyed to the same outlet wordnet
- 5 A critical point marking a change in course or development. figuratively
"In the minds of many, 1847 was a watershed year during which Ceres, Pallas, Juno, Vesta, and Astraea were reclassified as asteroids."
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- 6 a ridge of land that separates two adjacent river systems wordnet
- 7 The time during the day which material of a more adult nature (e.g., violence, swear words, or sex) may be broadcast on television or radio, either one permitted by law or one contrived from convention (e.g. when children are not watching). British, Canada
- 1 Serving to mark a significant development, change in direction, etc. not-comparable
"Green's Dictionary of Slang is a watershed publication in the annals of slang lexicography, being, beyond doubt, the most comprehensive scholarly dictionary of slang ever published."
Example
More examples"The Chesapeake watershed spans 64,000 squares miles, covering parts of six states—Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Over 17 million people live in this area."
Etymology
From water + shed. A calque of German Wasserscheide.
Related phrases
More for "watershed"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.