Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A ridge of high land dividing two areas that are drained by different river systems. Also called water parting.
- n. The region draining into a river, river system, or other body of water.
- n. A critical point that marks a division or a change of course; a turning point: "a watershed in modern American history, a time that ... forever changed American social attitudes” ( Robert Reinhold).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The area drained by a river and all its tributaries.
- n. The edge of a river-basin (see river); the line separating the waters flowing into two different rivers or river-basins. Thus, the crest of the Sierra Nevada of California forms the watershed between the rivers flowing into the Pacific and those which lose themselves in the Great Basin. Sometimes called the water-parting, and in the United States more frequently and popularly the divide. Thus, the “Continental Divide” is the line which marks the separation of the waters flowing into the Pacific from those finding their way to the Gulf of Mexico.
Wiktionary
- n. hydrology The topographical boundary dividing two adjacent catchment basins, such as a ridge or a crest.
- n. US A region of land within which water flows down into a specified body, such as a river, lake, sea, or ocean; a drainage basin.
- n. A critical point marking a change in course or development.
- n. Canada, UK The time after which material of more adult nature (violence, swear words, sex) may be broadcast on television or radio, either one laid down or one contrived (e.g. when children are not watching...)
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The whole region or extent of country which contributes to the supply of a river or lake.
- n. The line of division between two adjacent rivers or lakes with respect to the flow of water by natural channels into them; the natural boundary of a basin; -- called also
divide andwater parting . - n. a point in time marking an important transition between two situations, or phases of an activity; a turning point.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the entire geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries; an area characterized by all runoff being conveyed to the same outlet
- n. a ridge of land that separates two adjacent river systems
- n. an event marking a unique or important historical change of course or one on which important developments depend
Etymologies
- water + shed, a calque of German Wasserscheide, a compound of Wasser ("water") + Scheide ("divide"). (Wiktionary)
- Probably translation of German Wasserscheide : Wasser, water + Scheide, divide, parting. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The term watershed is used (especially in North America and Europe) to indicate an area of land from which all water falling as rain or snow would flow toward a single point.”
“Today Mr. Bush is touting what he calls a watershed event in Iraq and he's asking for patience from Americans who disapprove of his handling of the war in Iraq, 62 percent taken in our poll only last week.”
“Part of the reason Final Fantasy VII was such a watershed is that it was the first time most of us had played an RPG story where we got to see dramatic visuals of the characters in three dimensions.”
“These hills separate this watershed from the neighboring Madeira-Tapajós moist forest.”
“Most of the watershed is blanketed by mature wet forests whose composition is poorly known.”
“Your own confirmation hearing in 1987 is often called a watershed for the process.”
“It is appropriate that a historically significant date, such as June the 26th, will now in future also become known as a watershed day in the politics of this Province.”
“By 1985 it became common to claim that the British civil service was at a crossroads (Wass, 1985; Harrison and Gratton, 1987; Fry, 1988), and the changes introduced in the British civil service after the Conservative victory in 1979 were described as a watershed in the evolution of British government (Metcalfe and Richards, 1987).”
“The recent 2011 general election was described as a watershed by many people, and I wanted to see what this meant on the ground," he said.”
“All BEF customers and donors support long-term watershed restoration and renewable energy education for students and communities nationwide because BEF reinvests its net revenues to fund its Model Watershed and Solar 4R”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘watershed’.
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ENVI - water protection
surface system, supply, substrate, subsoil, superficial deposit, sub-basin, stream gaging sta..., spillway, stratification, surface fresh water, stop valve, sprinkler and 398 more...
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PECH - general terms
downstream activity, downstream sector, discards, depletion of stocks, demolition of fis..., direct restocking, distant water and..., conservation refe..., deep-sea fishing, country of flag, biological recove..., discarded catch and 153 more...
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Thresholds
we are all just passing through.
(boundaries, portals and liminal spaces/times)cockcrow, interface, thin line, portal, postern, littoral, portico, porch, stoop, strand, liminal, limen and 304 more...
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#faveword
Words chosen as favorites for the Twitter hashtag #faveword.
autumnal, grotto, chiaroscuro, sfumato, homunculus, zing, zest, effervescent, bewitch, avuncular, susurrus, Styrofoam and 205 more...
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WF - nominal compounds (figurative)
An extensive list I have been working on for quite some time. Feel free to add more of the kind if you miss any.
brainstorming, upside, downside, goldplating, bikeshedding, mudslinging, downgrading, headhunter, streamlining, mainstreaming, gerrymandering, frontloading and 503 more...
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boundaries / divisions
demarcation, limit, separation, distinction, definition, boundary, division, dichotomy, binary, dualities, categorisation, classification and 23 more...
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Go over
mollify, obstinate, obviate, occlude, onerous, obscure, paragon, pedantic, perfunctory, placate, placid, prodigal and 364 more...
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Verecund, flivver, etc
Just some words I happen to enjoy. Some thread-worn, some not.
yegg, yob, verecund, amatory, fermata, threepenny, gruntled, flivver, gamboge, decolletage, ordure, nudnik and 173 more...
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haguremetaru's Words
floozy, mandalay, mandible, x, don't, will, ridiculous, funily, stuff, junk, doody, manning and 152 more...
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nominative case collection
wine stopper, pyre, roster, hamper, moleskin, elastic, pinnacle, facsimile, nook, plonk, contortionist, dismay and 342 more...
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the earth
Planetary chaos: terrain, landscape and geology excluding rocks. (See "the geologist" list for the latter.)
butte, karst, caldera, mesa, laccolith, cwm, crater, alp, precipice, sierra, badlands, prairie and 122 more...
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kmalladi's favorites
edification, penchant, ablution, extricate, frank, triumvirate, trifecta, egregious, hoi polloi, articulate, antediluvian, brusque and 291 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (W)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
wail, waistcoat, wales, wallflower, wand, wandering, wanderlust, waning, ward, wardrobe, warp, wassail and 97 more...
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bertilak's Words
antidisestablishm..., feldercarb, wainscoting, eleemosynary, oxymoron, fuliginous, libration, lammergeier, saxifrage, ichor, lambent, smaragdine and 414 more...
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Politrix
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
vexillology, blowback, impunity, extraterritoriality, plenipotentiary, filibuster, pundit, jingoistic, gerrymander, swiftboat, espionage, ipsedixitism and 151 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for watershed.

vanishedone WordNet omits a specific broadcasting sense: the time in the evening after which material not considered suitable for children gets shown. Apr 4, 2009