Watershed — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a ridge of land that separates two adjacent river systems

the entire geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries; an area characterized by all runoff being conveyed to the same outlet

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/wˈɔːɾɚʃˌɛd/

🇬🇧British English

/wˈɔːtəʃˌɛd/

🇮🇳Indian English

/wˈɔːtəʃˌɛd/

3 syllables Say it as /wˈɔːɾɚʃˌɛd/.

Examples

flood control in the Missouri basin
the agreement was a watershed in the history of both nations

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

catchment area landmark water parting turning point basin divide drainage area drainage basin catchment basin river basin

Parts of Speech

noun	a ridge of land that separates two adjacent river systems
noun	the entire geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries; an area characterized by all runoff being conveyed to the same outlet “flood control in the Missouri basin”
noun	an event marking a unique or important historical change of course or one on which important developments depend “the agreement was a watershed in the history of both nations”

Word Forms

divide

verb

act as a barrier between; stand between

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Wasserscheide

ein Landrücken, der zwei benachbarte Flusssysteme trennt

🇫🇷French

bassin versant

une crête de terre qui sépare deux systèmes fluviaux adjacents

🇪🇸Spanish

cuenca

una cresta de tierra que separa dos sistemas fluviales adyacentes

🇮🇹Italian

spartiacque

una cresta di terra che separa due sistemi fluviali adiacenti

🇳🇱Dutch

waterscheiding

een landrug die twee aangrenzende riviersystemen scheidt

🇵🇹Portuguese

bacia hidrográfica

uma crista de terra que separa dois sistemas fluviais adjacentes

🇷🇺Russian

водораздел

горная гряда, разделяющая две соседние речные системы

India

🇮🇳Hindi

जलविभाजन

भूमि की एक चोटी जो दो निकटवर्ती नदी प्रणालियों को अलग करती है

🇧🇩Bengali

জলাশয়

ভূমির একটি চূড়া যা দুটি সংলগ্ন নদী ব্যবস্থাকে পৃথক করে

🇮🇳Tamil

நீர்நிலை

இரண்டு அருகிலுள்ள நதி அமைப்புகளைப் பிரிக்கும் நிலத்தின் ஒரு முகடு

🇮🇳Telugu

పరీవాహక

రెండు ప్రక్కనే ఉన్న నదీ వ్యవస్థలను వేరుచేసే భూమి యొక్క శిఖరం

🇮🇳Marathi

पाणलोट

दोन लगतच्या नदी प्रणालींना वेगळे करणारी जमीन

🇮🇳Gujarati

વોટરશેડ

બે અડીને આવેલી નદી પ્રણાલીઓને અલગ પાડતી જમીનનો એક ભાગ

🇮🇳Kannada

ಜಲಾನಯನ

ಎರಡು ಪಕ್ಕದ ನದಿ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಗಳನ್ನು ಬೇರ್ಪಡಿಸುವ ಭೂಮಿಯ ಪರ್ವತ

🇮🇳Malayalam

നീർത്തടങ്ങൾ

സമീപത്തുള്ള രണ്ട് നദീതടങ്ങളെ വേർതിരിക്കുന്ന ഒരു ഭൂപ്രദേശം

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਵਾਟਰਸ਼ੈੱਡ

ਜ਼ਮੀਨ ਦਾ ਇੱਕ ਰਿਜ ਜੋ ਦੋ ਨਾਲ ਲੱਗਦੇ ਨਦੀ ਪ੍ਰਣਾਲੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਵੱਖ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

واٹرشیڈ

زمین کا ایک ٹکڑا جو دو ملحقہ ندیوں کے نظام کو الگ کرتا ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

分水岭

分隔两个相邻河流系统的山脊

🇯🇵Japanese

流域

隣接する 2 つの水系を隔てる土地の尾根

🇰🇷Korean

유역

두 개의 인접한 강계를 분리하는 능선

🇻🇳Vietnamese

lưu vực sông

một dải đất ngăn cách hai hệ thống sông liền kề

🇹🇭Thai

ลุ่มน้ำ

สันดินที่แยกระบบแม่น้ำสองสายที่อยู่ติดกัน

🇮🇩Indonesian

batas air

punggung bukit yang memisahkan dua sistem sungai yang berdekatan

🇲🇾Malay

tadahan air

rabung tanah yang memisahkan dua sistem sungai yang bersebelahan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

مستجمعات المياه

سلسلة من الأرض تفصل بين نظامين نهريين متجاورين

🇮🇷Persian

حوضه آبخیز

خط الراس زمینی که دو سیستم رودخانه مجاور را از هم جدا می کند

🇹🇷Turkish

dönüm noktası

iki bitişik nehir sistemini ayıran bir arazi sırtı

🇮🇱Hebrew

פָּרָשַׁת הַמַיִם

רכס יבשה המפריד בין שתי מערכות נהרות סמוכות

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'watershed'?

The primary meaning of 'watershed' is 'a ridge of land that separates two adjacent river systems'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'watershed' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'watershed' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'watershed' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'watershed' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'watershed' in your daily reading?

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Do you find 'watershed' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

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A bit confusing

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In your opinion, does the word 'watershed' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

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Neutral

Gloomy

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Which age group is most likely to use 'watershed' in regular conversations?

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How likely are you to use 'watershed' in a professional email?

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Would you classify 'watershed' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

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Slang

Archaic

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