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

Some of the worst-hit AI stocks rebounded after news emerged that $20 billion AI-focused hedge fund Situational Awareness has sold the bulk of its stock portfolio to Citadel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Retail traders dumped tech shares in recent days, analysts say, as did highflying AI-focused hedge fund Situational Awareness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

In 1994 he left academia to bring machine learning to Wall Street, then founded SCT Capital, one of the first hedge funds built entirely on machine-driven trading.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

It alleged that foreign hedge funds were behind the investigation in the hope of financial gain.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

Taking 2 percent of assets off the top, as most did, meant the hedge fund manager got paid simply for amassing vast amounts of other people’s money.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

"Check carefully for signs of activity before you cut back hedges or vegetation," it added.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

If it persists, you may want to take some chips off the table and/or buy hedges as portfolio insurance.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026

Where beach shacks once stood, now you’ll find estates hidden behind hedges and marinas packed with yachts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

The study area included hedges, a cornfield, and a tree that stood between the hive and the food source, preventing a direct route.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026

Young men and women mingle, eager to enter the labyrinth of hedges and begin the game.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

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

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

To simplify, being delta neutral means option dealers will shift their holdings of the underlying asset as option prices move in order to maintain a hedged position.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 20, 2026

Qantas said approximately 90% of its June-half exposure to crude oil was hedged, but that it remained largely exposed to movements in jet refining margins.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 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

Guy LeBas, chief fixed-income strategist at Janney, said the main trade this month has been focused on hedging the Fed.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

A one-off hit tied to hedging and funding for the Commerzbank offer weighed on UniCredit’s net profit for the second quarter, which fell 13% on year to 2.91 billion euros.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

If expectations of a stronger yen cause Japanese investors to increase their dollar hedges, the basis could move further into negative territory, signaling greater hedging demand and tighter dollar-funding conditions.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

There’s a lot of hedging going on, though the science is real, the photography spectacular and the girths of the subjects prompt impolite questions: Are you pregnant?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

After all, Montaigne never gave an example of heavenly inspiration, of divine intervention, without hedging it about with doubts and difficulties.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• fudge
• sidestep
• waffle