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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of watershed
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Over the past several months, staff and volunteers have worked to collect seeds from the upper Guadalupe’s watershed.
—Liz Teitz, San Antonio Express-News, 26 Jan. 2026
Bloomberg, Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2026
The news represents a watershed moment for blockchain since not only is NYSE an iconic brand, but its parent company ICE owns other exchanges and clearing systems all over the world.
—Omid Malekan, Fortune, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for watershed
Noun
The problem is that gauges are unevenly distributed across the planet, and some of the places where better monitoring matters most — remote regions, fast-changing watersheds, politically complex borders — are often the hardest to measure consistently.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Over the past several months, staff and volunteers have worked to collect seeds from the upper Guadalupe’s watershed.
—Liz Teitz, San Antonio Express-News, 26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
OpenAI’s decision to introduce ads is a watershed moment for the sector, which faces steep costs for computing power, staffing and upcoming infrastructure buildouts.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2026
The news represents a watershed moment for blockchain since not only is NYSE an iconic brand, but its parent company ICE owns other exchanges and clearing systems all over the world.
—Omid Malekan, Fortune, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for watershed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for watershed
Noun
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At the forefront of this transformation is the geopolitical competition between the United States and China centered on a return to the moon, a milestone poised to define the norms of space activity for decades ahead.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
8 Feb. 2026
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This week's quiz highlights leading ladies, music milestones and much more.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Trump’s comments have also raised fears among Democrats and voting-rights groups that the president could try to intervene in this year’s pivotal midterm elections, as Republicans try to hold on to slim majorities in both chambers.—
Justin Papp,
CNBC,
13 Feb. 2026
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The partnership was a pivotal moment for Williams and his brand.—
Tara Larson,
Footwear News,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Initially, neither party trusts the other, and the surprising but emotionally logical betrayal that prompts the film’s high-stakes climax carries a lovingly sincere intention.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
31 Jan. 2026
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Nominally in the spirit of ’90s from-hell thrillers, The Patient is a riveting character drama that offers some queasy white-knuckle suspense on the way to a thrilling climax.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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This game paired two epochal running backs and 2000s MVPs, but neither found much room.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
25 Jan. 2026
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Illustrations from the era show Malinche, serving as translator, as a central participant in Cortés’ epochal meeting with the Aztec emperor Moctezuma on Nov. 8, 1519, on a causeway leading to Tenochtitlán.—
Foreign Correspondent,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Jan. 2026
Noun
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See video … LISTEN Tune in for more on the landmark trial testing whether major social media platforms can be held liable for addictive harms to children.—
,
FOXNews.com,
5 Feb. 2026
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In a landmark case, a New York jury has awarded a $2 million medical malpractice verdict to Varian who sued doctors for performing a double mastectomy on her at just 16 years old.—
Nicole Russell,
USA Today,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that Khamenei remains the decisive figure in Iran’s system even as the regime faces pressure at home and abroad.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
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Iran’s military has warned that any attack would be met with an immediate and decisive response, including strikes on US forces and assets in the region.—
Kevin Liptak,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Not wrong for much of the last three decades — but Saturday night’s gig, and all the joyous revelry surrounding it, showed why the Live ’25 Tour has been payoff enough for none of them to look back in anger at any of it.—
Andrew Unterberger,
Billboard,
17 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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This uprising is momentous and will have profound consequences.—
Shahrnush Parsipur,
Time,
3 Feb. 2026
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With that distinction came a $200 million facelift — finished in 2025 — to prepare for the momentous stretch.—
Scott Phillips,
New York Times,
2 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Watershed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watershed. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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