watershed
noun
Frits StaalThe Chicago TribuneRaymond SokolovVictoria BrittainIra KonigsbergRenee MeyerSusan Scutti
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Watershed Has Geographic Origins
Opinion on the literal geographic meaning of watershed is divided. On one side of the debate are those who think the word can only refer to a ridge of land separating rivers and streams flowing in one direction from those flowing in the opposite direction. That's the term's original meaning, one probably borrowed in the translation of the German Wasserscheide. On the other side of the argument are those who think watershed can also apply to the area through which such divided water flows. The latter sense is now far more common in America, but most Americans have apparently decided to leave the quarrel to geologists and geographers while they use the term in its figurative sense, "turning point."
Examples of watershed in a Sentence
Ars Technica, 19 Mar. 2025
Maryland is targeting five of its ailing watersheds for a concentrated push to restore them — but the state’s budget crisis has put funding for the effort in doubt.
—Timothy Wheeler, Baltimore Sun, 17 Mar. 2025
Just because an entire watershed is highlighted doesn’t mean the wolf or wolves roamed throughout the entire area or are still there, according to state wildlife officials.
—Katie Langford, The Denver Post, 27 Feb. 2025
The basin, which is home to Ash Meadows, is a vast desert watershed that feeds the Amargosa River.
—Meg Bernhard, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for watershed
Cite this Entry
“Watershed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/watershed. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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watershed
noun
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