hedge

[ hej ]

/ hɛdʒ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hedge ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

any barrier or boundary: a hedge of stones.

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.

to enclose with or separate by a hedge: to hedge a garden.

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.

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.

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

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

verb (used without object), hedged, hedg·ing.

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.

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

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

Nearby words

Origin of hedge

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

SYNONYMS FOR hedge

9. evade, stall, delay, temporize, waffle.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hedge ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formshedge·less, adjectiveun·hedge, verb (used with object), un·hedged, un·hedg·ing.un·hedged, adjectivewell-hedged, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hedge

Dunham makes fun of herself only so that she can then hedge and embrace an authoritative role.
Time to Grow Up, Lena Dunham|Emily Shire|October 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 1998, when the hedge fund Long Term Capital Management blew up, the New York Fed helped organize a $3.65 billion bailout.
The Incredible 'Wussiness' Of The Fed Vs Goldman Sachs—Caught On Tape|Daniel Gross|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Diversification” is a hedge fund wife eschewing a Lily Pulitzer tote bag in favor of one made by Sloane Ranger or Jonathan Adler.
The Hell of the Hamptons: Why the Exclusive Hotspot Is a Mind-Numbing Drag|Robert Gold|August 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I used to work at an elite Manhattan hedge fund that recruited almost exclusively from the Ivy League and its equivalents.
The Ivy League Provides the Best Trade Schools Around|Nick Romeo|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

But he is clearly focused on big picture social and political issues than he is on running money in his hedge fund.
Don’t Count Rupert Murdoch Out Yet: Why The Magnate Hasn’t Given Up on Time Warner|Daniel Gross|July 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
George told his story, with the result that we made our way to the "Sheeps' Close" and hid behind the hedge.
The Birthright|Joseph Hocking
Jonas muttered something to himself, when he saw him sitting up beneath the hedge, looking vacantly around.
Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit|Charles Dickens
The latter was but some sixty yards away when he leaped a hedge into a narrow lane.
Colonel Thorndyke's Secret|G. A. Henty
The voices came from the other side of the hedge, on the opposite side of the lane.
A Final Reckoning|G. A. Henty
Cutting the switch he slid out of the car and ducked over a hedge.
A Yankee Flier Over Berlin|Al Avery

British Dictionary definitions for hedge

hedge

/ (hɛdʒ) /

noun

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

a barrier or protection against something

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

a cautious or evasive statement

(modifier; often in combination) low, inferior, or illiteratea hedge lawyer

verb

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

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

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

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

(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

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

Derived Formshedger, nounhedging, nounhedgy, adjective

Word Origin for hedge

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

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

Word Origin and History for hedge

hedge

Old English hecg, originally any fence, living or artificial, from West Germanic *khagja (cf. Middle Dutch hegge, Dutch heg, Old High German hegga, German Hecke "hedge"), from PIE *kagh- "to catch, seize; wickerwork, fence" (cf. Latin caulae "a sheepfold, enclosure," Gaulish caio "circumvallation," Welsh cae "fence, hedge"). Related to Old English haga "enclosure, hedge" (see haw). Figurative sense of "boundary, barrier" is from mid-14c. Prefixed to any word, it "notes something mean, vile, of the lowest class" [Johnson], from contemptuous attributive sense of "plying one's trade under a hedge" (hedge-priest, hedge-lawyer, hedge-wench, etc.), a usage attested from 1530s.

hedge

late 14c., "make a hedge," also "surround with a barricade or palisade;" from hedge (n.). The sense of "dodge, evade" is first recorded 1590s. That of "insure oneself against loss," as in a bet, by playing something on the other side is from 1670s, originally with in; probably from an earlier use of hedge in meaning "secure (a debt) by including it in a larger one which has better security" (1610s). Related: Hedged; hedging. The noun in the wagering sense is from 1736.

hedge

noun

verb (used with object), hedged, hedg·ing.

verb (used without object), hedged, hedg·ing.

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Origin of hedge

Examples from the Web for hedge

hedge

noun

verb

Word Origin for hedge

hedge

hedge