Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The entire region draining into a river, river system, or other body of water.
- noun A ridge of high land dividing two areas that are drained by different river systems.
- noun A critical point that marks a division or a change of course; a turning point.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The area drained by a river and all its tributaries.
- noun The edge of a river-basin (see
river ); the line separating the waters flowing into two different rivers or river-basins.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The whole region or extent of country which contributes to the supply of a river or lake.
- noun 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 . - noun a point in time marking an important transition between two situations, or phases of an activity; a turning point.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun hydrology The
topographical boundary dividing two adjacentcatchment basins , such as aridge or acrest . - noun 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 . - noun A
critical point marking a change in course or development. - noun Canada, UK The time after which material of more adult nature (
violence ,swear words ,sex ) may bebroadcast on television or radio, either one laid down or one contrived (e.g. when children are not watching...)
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the entire geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries; an area characterized by all runoff being conveyed to the same outlet
- noun a ridge of land that separates two adjacent river systems
- noun an event marking a unique or important historical change of course or one on which important developments depend
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Examples
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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These hills separate this watershed from the neighboring Madeira-Tapajós moist forest.
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Most of the watershed is blanketed by mature wet forests whose composition is poorly known.
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Your own confirmation hearing in 1987 is often called a watershed for the process.
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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.
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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.
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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).
vanishedone commented on the word watershed
WordNet omits a specific broadcasting sense: the time in the evening after which material not considered suitable for children gets shown.
April 4, 2009