watershed

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For many the watershed was the October 2007 savage beating and subsequent death of an Italian naval officer's wife, Giovanna Reggiani, 47, near a shanty settlement on the outskirts of Rome mostly inhabited by ethnic Roma.

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Definitions (11)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun A ridge of high land dividing two areas that are drained by different river systems. Also called water parting.
  2. noun The region draining into a river, river system, or other body of water.
  3. noun 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).

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Examples (34)

  • During this period, the inflow into the watershed is about 200 cubic feet per second while the outflow remains at 500 to 600 cubic feet per second. —  The Roanoke Times: Home page
  • Watershed Manager John Moore said a watershed could be as big as your backyard. —  news | SJ | http://www.goupstate.com
  • The Brazos River Authority has sent out a news release that because of recent rainfall in the Lake Aquilla watershed, the BRA terminated the lake's Stage 1 drought watch. —  wacotrib - Latest News Headlines
  • The snowpack in Colorado is about 120 percent of normal, and the rest of the watershed is above or near normal. —  AroundTheCapitol.com
  • "However, the presence of nuclear power facilities or other nuclear industries within the watershed area means that there is the potential for release of artificial radionuclides as well," he said. —  Ottawa Sun
 

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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watershed:   watersheds
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Probably translation of German Wasserscheide : Wasser, water + Scheide, divide, parting.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from water + shed.
 

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/ˈwɔtərʃɛd/
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