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.

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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

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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

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Etymology

Origin of hedge

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

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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

While overseas stockpiles offer only a limited hedge against shipping disruptions, the war and low global inventories are strengthening the case for more storage and alternative transport routes, analysts said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Two similar periods to the post-Liberation Day bounce are the ones after hedge fund Long Term Capital Management had to be rescued in 1998 and the Covid panic in 2020.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

However, if you’re using I-bonds the way they were intended, as an inflation hedge, it shouldn’t matter that much to you.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

He highlighted how exaggerated some moves were in the most popular hedge fund longs and shorts and pointed to it being the second-most volatile day of the year for this class of stocks.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

On June 14, the pair of subprime mortgage bond hedge funds effectively owned by Bear Stearns went belly-up.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Norwegian’s fuel price per metric ton, net of hedges increased to $819 from $744 in 2025.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Since the building sits next to hedges on two sides, she didn’t cover the whole thing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

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

It twisted and turned tortuously, over small hillocks, through hedges and across fields.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

A puma named Muluk seemed sure that South Korea will triumph against the Czech Republic, and six giraffes hedged their bets with the Democratic Republic of Congo over Colombia.

From Barron's ● Jun. 6, 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 an extra £25m in March alone.

From BBC ● May 3, 2026

While Steyer and Xavier Becerra, the former California attorney general, both said they would support such a ban, the remaining three candidates hedged or said they would not.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026

Criticks, do your worst, that here are met; For, like a Rook, I have hedged in my Bet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026

He recited the line from memory: “‘The Lomas Financial Corporation is a perfectly hedged financial institution: it loses money in every conceivable interest rate environment.’

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

“Less issuance can ease the Treasury selling tied to hedging new deals,” said Vincent Ahn, portfolio manager at SLW Investments.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

Further ecological mitigation proposed included use of bat boxes, a lighting plan with "properly positioned and shielded lighting minimising light spill", standard trees and 20 smaller trees and hedging.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

However, supplying U.S. dollars to oil companies still draws on reserves, while tighter derivative rules may also affect genuine hedging activity, they said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

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

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

I’ve been around the block enough times to know when someone’s hedging.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz

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Related Words

• fudge
• sidestep
• waffle

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