as in milestone
a point in a chain of events at which an important change (as in one's fortunes) occurs
a watershed moment in her life came when she inherited a reasonable sum of money and was able to start her own coffee shop
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in pivotal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of watershed
Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 27 Mar. 2025
Water and humans together has information about water quality, water policies, water regulation, water rights, conservation and pollution, and preserving and restoring watershed.
—Debra Skodack, Kansas City Star, 19 Mar. 2025
But the same freshwater is also essential for Panama’s many other needs, including drinking water for about 2 million Panamanians, use by Indigenous people and farmers in the watershed, as well as hydropower.
—Karina Garcia, The Conversation, 31 Mar. 2025
The large encampment-clearing is funded by the city’s Measure DD, a bond initiative approved by voters in 2002 to improve parks, protect wildlife habitat and improve water quality in the city’s numerous watersheds.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for watershed
Noun
The map shows the watersheds where at least one GPS position was recorded, CPW points out, and a highlighted area showing wolf activity doesn’t necessarily mean that wolves are present throughout that entire watershed.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 27 Mar. 2025
Water and humans together has information about water quality, water policies, water regulation, water rights, conservation and pollution, and preserving and restoring watershed.
—Debra Skodack, Kansas City Star, 19 Mar. 2025
But the same freshwater is also essential for Panama’s many other needs, including drinking water for about 2 million Panamanians, use by Indigenous people and farmers in the watershed, as well as hydropower.
—Karina Garcia, The Conversation, 31 Mar. 2025
The large encampment-clearing is funded by the city’s Measure DD, a bond initiative approved by voters in 2002 to improve parks, protect wildlife habitat and improve water quality in the city’s numerous watersheds.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for watershed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for watershed
Noun
-
Murray noted that 2004 was a milestone for Black homeownership, hitting a highmark of 49%, but it’s decreased considerably since then.—
Raisa Habersham,
Miami Herald,
18 Apr. 2025
-
Chantel says that when Savannah isn't showering Ivy with gifts, her adoptive parents keep her biological mom updated on major milestones.—
Zoey Lyttle,
People.com,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Related Stories As Dickens goes over each of Jesus’ miracles and other pivotal moments ahead of his gruesome death, young Walter walks into the biblical passages as an unseen figure watching from the sidelines and becoming enraptured by the tall tales.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
11 Apr. 2025
-
The Penn State athletic department also credits former Penn State club ice hockey coach Joe Battista, a former school administrator who played a pivotal in securing the original donation from the Pegulas and oversaw the early development of the men’s and women’s D-I programs.—
Eric Jackson,
Sportico.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Fans believed from Episode One that at least one character would die in a shooting, and, as in Seasons One and Two, each episode slowly (this time, much more slowly) built to the anticipated climax, leaving breadcrumbs both real and sometimes intentionally misleading.—
Jodi Guglielmi,
Rolling Stone,
7 Apr. 2025
-
In Sunday’s stressful Season 3 finale, all the storylines came to a tragic climax, with Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood), Rick (Walton Goggins) and Jim Hollinger (Scott Glenn), who was revealed to be Rick’s real father, all dying in a shootout at the resort.—
Alli Rosenbloom,
CNN Money,
6 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
In a field where precision can make the difference between a modest payout and a landmark settlement, AcroDocz provides a competitive edge that reshapes the way legal professionals approach case evaluation and strategy.—
Ethan Stone,
USA TODAY,
27 Feb. 2025
-
According to a press release from Blue Origin, the veteran journalist will be part of an all-woman collective heading to outer space in a landmark journey.—
DeMicia Inman,
VIBE.com,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
In a striking parallel to the 1990s, epochal thinking about the potentialities of a high technology society has once again upended politics.—
Jacob Bruggeman & Casey Eilbert / Made by History,
TIME,
3 Mar. 2025
-
Pacino gives one of his greatest performances as desperate crook Sonny Wortzik in Lumet’s epochal New York crime drama, based on the bizarre true story of a 1972 bank robbery staged blocks from the movie’s Brooklyn location.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Overall, this brief season feels largely transitional, as if its seven episodes were focused on carefully repurposing and maneuvering the plot toward what could be a decisive season 3.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
12 Apr. 2025
-
In this scenario, the most likely outcome would involve Punk pinning Seth Rollins, providing a decisive conclusion to their ongoing feud with a clear pinfall victory, while strategically preserving Roman Reigns' aura of dominance and mystique by avoiding a direct pinfall loss to Punk.—
David Faris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
After a momentous week, that question has suddenly become international.—
Laurent Belsie,
Christian Science Monitor,
11 Apr. 2025
-
There’s inherently a lot of redundancy in reporting, because many outlets cover the same momentous happenings, and seek to do so from multiple angles.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The bullpen gave up the lead on the first pitch, and then three more in the deciding 10th inning.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
27 Mar. 2025
-
Travis weeks earlier cited as the deciding and unprecedented factor.—
Chris Vannini,
The Athletic,
9 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Watershed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watershed. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share