Meaning & use

watershed

noun·Academic

The area of land whose water drains into a particular river, lake, or sea.

See it in a sentence

Pollution from farms upstream affects everyone living within the same watershed.

The election was a watershed moment that changed the country's direction for decades.

A note on using this word

The figurative sense, meaning a critical turning point, is now far more common than the original geographic one.

Words with a similar meaning

catchment

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “watershed”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.