watershed: Meaning and Definition of

wa•ter•shed

Pronunciation: (wô'tur-shed", wot'ur-), [key]
— n.
  1. the ridge or crest line dividing two drainage areas; water parting; divide.
  2. the region or area drained by a river, stream, etc.; drainage area.
  3. wash (def. 48).
  4. an important point of division or transition between two phases, conditions, etc.: The treaty to ban war in space may prove to be one of history's great watersheds.
—adj.
  1. constituting a watershed: a watershed area; a watershed case.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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