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
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as in pivotal
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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
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The preparations for Ovechkin’s run to the milestone goal began much earlier than that.—
Brett Knight,
Forbes.com,
6 Apr. 2025
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This milestone stands out in China‘s sluggish consumption environment marked by weak domestic and overseas demand.—
Li Jun,
Footwear News,
6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
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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
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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
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To mark the launch, an exclusive event was held at Mercedes-Benz of Manhattan, a landmark in the automotive industry for over 70 years.—
Mecca Pryor,
Essence,
8 Apr. 2025
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The group took over the One Wall Street building and restored the Red Room, a Art Deco architectural landmark with an original Hildreth Meière mosaic covering the walls and ceiling.—
Rhonda Richford,
Footwear News,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Over the past year, Sri Lanka has experienced an epochal social, political, and economic crisis.—
Arvind Subramanian,
Foreign Affairs,
9 Dec. 2022
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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
Adjective
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Under no pressure, Robinson is able to find Iwobi’s run behind the defence, and this attack leads to the corner from which Fulham scored their decisive third goal.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
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And the notion that the administration’s allies in Silicon Valley can quickly produce large numbers of nimble, affordable, and lethal next generation weapons that will give America a decisive edge should be treated with a large grain of salt.—
William Hartung,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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In that spirit, Alexander Isak’s 100th appearance for Newcastle United — featuring a cup final-winning goal no less — was a momentous milestone.—
Conor O'Neill,
New York Times,
2 Apr. 2025
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Revived by the brand with the aid of master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen, it’s been recreated for the momentous occasion of the brand’s 16th decade of continuous operation.—
Justin Fenner,
Robb Report,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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 16 Apr. 2025.
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