hedge

[ hej ]
See synonyms for: hedgehedgedhedging on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a row of bushes or small trees planted close together, especially when forming a fence or boundary; hedgerow: small fields separated by hedges.

  2. any barrier or boundary: a hedge of stones.

  1. an act or means of preventing complete loss of a bet, an argument, an investment, or the like, with a partially counterbalancing or qualifying one.

verb (used with object),hedged, hedg·ing.
  1. to enclose with or separate by a hedge: to hedge a garden.

  2. to surround and confine as if with a hedge; restrict (often followed by in, about, etc.): He felt hedged in by the rules of language.

  1. to protect with qualifications that allow for unstated contingencies or for withdrawal from commitment: He hedged his program against attack and then presented it to the board.

  2. to mitigate a possible loss by counterbalancing (one's bets, investments, etc.).

  3. to prevent or hinder free movement; obstruct: to be hedged by poverty.

verb (used without object),hedged, hedg·ing.
  1. to avoid a rigid commitment by qualifying or modifying a position so as to permit withdrawal: He felt that he was speaking too boldly and began to hedge before they could contradict him.

  2. to prevent complete loss of a bet by betting an additional amount or amounts against the original bet.

  1. Finance. to enter transactions that will protect against loss through a compensatory price movement.

Origin of hedge

1
before 900; Middle English, Old English hegge; cognate with Dutch heg,German Hecke hedge, Old Norse heggr bird cherry

Other words for hedge

Other words from hedge

  • hedgeless, adjective
  • un·hedge, verb (used with object), un·hedged, un·hedg·ing.
  • un·hedged, adjective
  • well-hedged, adjective

Words Nearby hedge

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hedge in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hedge

hedge

/ (hɛdʒ) /


noun
  1. a row of shrubs, bushes, or trees forming a boundary to a field, garden, etc

  2. a barrier or protection against something

  1. the act or a method of reducing the risk of financial loss on an investment, bet, etc

  2. a cautious or evasive statement

  3. (modifier; often in combination) low, inferior, or illiterate: a hedge lawyer

verb
  1. (tr) to enclose or separate with or as if with a hedge

  2. (intr) to make or maintain a hedge, as by cutting and laying

  1. (tr; often foll by in, about, or around) to hinder, obstruct, or restrict

  2. (intr) to evade decision or action, esp by making noncommittal statements

  3. (tr) to guard against the risk of loss in (a bet, the paying out of a win, etc), esp by laying bets with other bookmakers

  4. (intr) to protect against financial loss through future price fluctuations, as by investing in futures

Origin of hedge

1
Old English hecg; related to Old High German heckia, Middle Dutch hegge; see haw 1

Derived forms of hedge

  • hedger, noun
  • hedging, noun
  • hedgy, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012