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
Darrell Smith, Sacramento Bee, 2 Jan. 2025
To close this gap, some companies are conducting and using risk assessments to see which watersheds are threatened by poor water quality and setting targets to reduce their water quality impacts in these areas of their direct operations and supply chains.
—Mindy Lubber, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
At one such meeting at the school in Patagonia, where neighbors and local officials were railing against a company that is set to mine zinc and manganese in the town’s watershed, Mayes cautioned that applying public nuisance law to already permitted mines could be difficult.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 19 Dec. 2024
Miller stated Brown, who is married with four children, has shared her vision about improving the county's watershed and the water quality of the lake.
—Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 13 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for watershed 
Noun
The northern Sierra and Trinity region, which covers the Sacramento and Feather watersheds, reported the strongest snowpack conditions, with snow water equivalent at 161% of the average for early January and 57% of the April 1 average.
—Darrell Smith, Sacramento Bee, 2 Jan. 2025
To close this gap, some companies are conducting and using risk assessments to see which watersheds are threatened by poor water quality and setting targets to reduce their water quality impacts in these areas of their direct operations and supply chains.
—Mindy Lubber, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
At one such meeting at the school in Patagonia, where neighbors and local officials were railing against a company that is set to mine zinc and manganese in the town’s watershed, Mayes cautioned that applying public nuisance law to already permitted mines could be difficult.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 19 Dec. 2024
Miller stated Brown, who is married with four children, has shared her vision about improving the county's watershed and the water quality of the lake.
—Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 13 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for watershed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for watershed
Noun
-
Robbie Williams has secured a huge milestone on the U.K. Album Charts.—
Thomas Smith,
Billboard,
24 Jan. 2025
-
To mark the milestone, The New Yorker is digitizing its full archive, opening new pathways into a hundred years of great reporting, Profiles, fiction, and humor.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Robertson had been riding a wave of momentum leading into the playoff matchup, having played a pivotal role in Detroit's Week 18 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
19 Jan. 2025
-
These voters were pivotal in supporting Trump over Harris.—
Hersh Shefrin,
Forbes,
19 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
There was also the matter of replacing seemingly irreplaceable cast members, in particular Coolidge, whose departure served as the climax of Season 2.—
Charlie Campbell,
TIME,
24 Jan. 2025
-
The climax is a horrendous German burning of a village, as striking for its visual imagery as for its agitated music.—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Seventy garments and 30 accessories by a host of renowned designers are presented in this landmark show — the first fashion exhibition ever staged at the Louvre — with creations often hidden among the museum’s nearly 100,000 square feet of rooms and galleries.—
Lisa Klaassen and Serene Nourrisson,
CNN,
26 Jan. 2025
-
Later on Thursday, the SEC made a landmark announcement, withdrawing an accounting rule that made institutional crypto adoption more difficult by forcing banks to treat bitcoin and other tokens as a liability on their balance sheet.—
MacKenzie Sigalos,
CNBC,
25 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
The cultural, social, political, and technological shifts in this century could be epochal: manufacturing may or may not return to the United States; A.I. may or may not facilitate job loss on a vast scale—or, as some insist, an idyllic state of abundance.—
Anna Wiener,
The New Yorker,
27 Jan. 2025
-
And yet, Rich comments how Hubble's epochal discovery was actually relatively recent.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
The Seahawks scored a decisive 43-8 win over the Denver Broncos to claim the franchise’s first Super Bowl title.—
Vic Tafur,
The Athletic,
24 Jan. 2025
-
Jeff Buckley’s life started with both an act of embrace and a decisive abandonment.—
Harrison Richlin,
IndieWire,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
As a baseline, Chris Hayes points to Abraham Lincoln’s debates with Stephen A. Douglas, in the eighteen-fifties: three-hour exchanges of orations about a momentous topic, slavery.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
-
This race will mark a momentous return for NASCAR Cup events at Bowman Gray Stadium—a venue that hasn't hosted the series since 1971.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
18 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Travis weeks earlier cited as the deciding and unprecedented factor.—
Chris Vannini,
The Athletic,
9 Dec. 2024
-
As a result of the split, Sheboygan city residents play no deciding role in either of the two districts, which both lean heavily Republican.—
Journal Sentinel,
Journal Sentinel,
9 Jan. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near watershed
Cite this Entry
“Watershed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watershed. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share