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

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

But the central bank also warned that flightier investors such as hedge funds could amplify market stress in times of crisis, especially if they ditch bonds rapidly to unwind big bets made with borrowed money.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Asked whether Canada would try to sell itself as a hedge against an increasingly volatile and protectionist United States, the finance minister said: "I don't compare with others."

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

The strategists say they’d hedge against any weakening via put options on the “QQQ”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

"I got up, come down and the car is in my hedge."

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

His name was John Devaney and he ran a hedge fund that invested in subprime mortgage bonds, United Capital Markets.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

They can also game financial regulations with interest-rate hedges.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

“We see hedges as inexpensive and like hedging against a hot print,” the analysts wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

By the time Det Con Ryan came across it, it was partially obscured by overgrown hedges and long grass.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

That plate went back and forth through the hedges between our houses for years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

On the high-road there had been a gay west wind blowing in my face, making the grass on the hedges dance in unison, but here there was no wind.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

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

Asked if there is any salvation for the world’s Coke Zero drinkers, Jordan Trumble, a Diet Coke acolyte and Episcopal priest in West Virginia, thoughtfully hedged.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026

"Most of the big airlines tell me they are well hedged so are paying last year's prices for this year's flights," he told BBC Radio Scotland's Mornings with Lucy Whyte.

From BBC ● Apr. 23, 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

Eisman stuck to his sell rating on Lomas Financial, even after the Lomas Financial Corporation announced that investors needn’t worry about its financial condition, as it had hedged its market risk.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Loh says lower alumina prices could also allow Press Metal to reduce hedging.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Jet fuel prices will remain elevated over the July-December period, it forecast, vowing to pursue mitigating actions such as hedging for crude oil price changes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

We haven’t seen corporate borrowing spreads head materially higher, and as a result it really highlights the benefits and need to be proactive around hedging rising Treasury yields.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

You can already see some hedging in what he’s been saying about the race.

From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026

However, hedging his bets in case things go bad, Booth says he wants the letter back if he finds Matthews before ten tomorrow morning.

From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly

Related Words

• fudge
• sidestep
• waffle