From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwatermarkwa‧ter‧mark /ˈwɔːtəmɑːk $ ˈwɒːtərmɑːrk, ˈwɑː-/ noun [countable] 1 TCNa special design put onto paper, especially bank notes, that can only be seen when you hold it up to the lightbear/carry a watermark The sheet bears the watermark ‘1836’.2 a special mark contained in electronic documents, pictures, music etc that is used to stop people from copying them The card has a digital watermark detectable only by electronic cash dispensers.3 → high watermark4 → high/low watermark
Examples from the Corpus
watermark• I am distinguished not by my appearance, but by a watermark.• By moving the portrait to the left, engravers made more room for a watermark.• There is a watermark on this $50 bill.• The Windows driver provides a wide range of facilities, including laying down watermarks and printing multiple pages per sheet.• And not just any old envelope, but a special luxury brand with a griffin watermark.• Penal Policy in a Changing Society stands as the high watermark of what later became known as the treatment model.• This contains an invisible watermark ... detectable only to electronic tills and cash dispensers.The company says it should be impossible to copy.• Each print is illustrated and there is an appendix on watermarks.From Longman Business Dictionarywatermarkwa‧ter‧mark /ˈwɔːtəmɑːkˈwɒːtərmɑːrk, ˈwɑː-/ noun [countable]1a design that is put into paper that you can see when you hold it up to the lightBanknotes have a watermark to prevent forgery.2COMPUTING an electronic device in text, pictures, music etc in DIGITAL form, showing where they came from. Watermarks can be used to fight against illegal copyingA digital watermark through music bought over the Internet will show the original purchaser. 