hedge

American  

[hej] / hɛdʒ /

noun

• hedges
  plural

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.

3. 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)

• hedges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hedged,
  past participle,  past
• hedging
  present participle

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.

3. 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.

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

5. to prevent or hinder free movement; obstruct.

   to be hedged by poverty.

verb (used without object)

• hedges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hedged,
  past participle,  past
• hedging
  present participle

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.

   Synonyms:

   waffle, temporize, delay, stall, evade

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

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

hedge British  

/ 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

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

4. a cautious or evasive statement

5. (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

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

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

5. (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

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hedger
  noun
• hedging
  noun
• unhedge
  verb (used with object)
• hedgeless
  adjective
• hedgy
  adjective
• unhedged
  adjective
• well-hedged
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hedges
  plural

Participles

• hedging
  present
• hedged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• hedge
  simple
• hedges
  simple
• have hedged
  perfect
• has hedged
  perfect
• am hedging
  progressive
• are hedging
  progressive
• is hedging
  progressive
• have been hedging
  perfect progressive
• has been hedging
  perfect progressive

Past

• hedged
  simple
• had hedged
  perfect
• was hedging
  progressive
• were hedging
  progressive
• had been hedging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will hedge
  simple
• will have hedged
  perfect
• will be hedging
  progressive
• will have been hedging
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of hedge

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

---

Explanation

A hedge is a living fence made of closely planted bushes, which, as they grow and get trimmed and shaped, form a wall of green. Hedge can also be used as a verb. If someone asks you a question and you hedge, you're avoiding a straight answer. If you're not sure what your boss's political views are, you can hedge by not revealing yours. If you hedge your bets, you're trying to minimize risk or loss — that is, you're trying to cover yourself no matter what happens.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hedge hedges hedged hedging

Other investments, including in biotech funds and multistrategy hedge funds, also paid off.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Meanwhile, the violence of this week’s rally in Treasurys could be due in part to hedge funds and other investors’ betting against bonds — something that had become a hot trade as of late.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

Meanwhile, it reports that hedge funds and banks have "hit out" at "Burnham's bid to ban non-compete clauses in work contracts".

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Firman’s X account describes him as a “Commercial Real Estate Co. Principal. Partner in private co. who’s trading is comparable to a hedge fund’s. Rare Vintage Sports Memorabilia Collector.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

But then I read the news that a little-known New York hedge fund manager named John Paulson had made $20 billion or so for his investors and nearly $4 billion for himself.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

The SFI scheme is vital for many farmers who have turned large swathes of their land over to nature-friendly schemes, such as planting hedges, creating wildflower margins and protecting the soil.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

He now lives on Indian Creek island behind dense hedges that prevent even his wealthy neighbors from peering into his estate—the only home like that on the island, one club member said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

“Investors are still carrying downside hedges while simultaneously trying to repair underexposure to the rally,” he said in emailed commentary on Thursday.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

Mortgage companies often make hedges against their portfolios of mortgages, which change in value with interest rates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

She craned her neck to see all the topiary mazes of moonflower hedges and starfruit trees.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

The company said 80% of fiscal 2027 jet fuel is hedged at around $67 per barrel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

In this way, you will be largely hedged against changes in interest rates across the credit spectrum.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

Astoria launched a hedged growth fund for separately managed accounts in late 2020 that offers strategies similar to buffered ETFs.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

EasyJet, for example, hedged 80% of its fuel supply for the first half of the year at $717/tonne - but finding the remainder at prevailing prices cost the airline £25m in March alone.

From BBC ● May 3, 2026

I wasn’t sure if it was a trick question, and seeing how I didn’t want to derail our rock-a-thon of love with a wrong answer, I kind of hedged, although what I said was true.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

That kind of hedging is the danger of making friends mad.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

“It’s also why banks are looking at hedging that outcome.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

But he said that hedging from dollars into euros only swaps one fiat currency for another.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Goldman see eventual restrictions on U.S. diesel exports as “very plausible,” and to prepare, the strategists recommend hedging geopolitical risk by taking long positions in European gasoline as its supply continues to tighten.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

There are no trees to give shelter overhead, only the forest hedging the camp.

From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• fudge
• sidestep
• waffle

---