watershed

[ waw-ter-shed, wot-er- ]
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noun
  1. Chiefly British. the ridge or crest line dividing two drainage areas; water parting; divide.

  2. the region or area drained by a river, stream, etc.; drainage area.

  1. Architecture. wash (def. 45).

  2. 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
  1. constituting a watershed: a watershed area; a watershed case.

Origin of watershed

1
First recorded in 1795–1805; water + shed2

Words Nearby watershed

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use watershed in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for watershed

watershed

/ (ˈwɔːtəˌʃɛd) /


noun
  1. the dividing line between two adjacent river systems, such as a ridge

  2. an important period or factor that serves as a dividing line

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for watershed

watershed

[ tər-shĕd′ ]


  1. A continuous ridge of high ground forming a divide between two different drainage basins or river systems.

  2. The region enclosed by such a divide and draining into a river, river system, or other body of water.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for watershed

watershed

A ridge of high land dividing two areas that are drained by different river systems. On one side of a watershed, rivers and streams flow in one direction; on the other side they flow in another direction. Also, the area drained by a water system.

Notes for watershed

By extension, a “watershed” is a critical point that serves as a dividing line: “The parties reached a watershed in the contract negotiations.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.