hedge

American  

[hej] / hɛdʒ /

noun

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)

hedged, hedging

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)

hedged, hedging

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

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

Etymology

Origin of hedge

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

Example Sentences

The hedge fund had previously bet against similar companies it thought were overhyped and potentially fraudulent.

From The Wall Street Journal

Delaying Social Security benefits until age 70, which maximizes inflation-indexed lifetime payments, offers one of the strongest hedges against both longevity and inflation risk available to retirees.

From The Wall Street Journal

As well as, like gold, being a hedge against the dollar, silver also benefits from structural demand from industrial uses, such as in manufacturing for solar panels, electric vehicles, and data centers.

From Barron's

Outside, the home features a glittering lap pool that overlooks the ocean, while hedges that border the 1-acre property help to ensure privacy from prying eyes, something that Doherty is said to have prized.

From MarketWatch

After the 2008 bankruptcy of Pacific Lumber, a New York hedge fund took possession of the town, an asset it did not relish in its portfolio.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• fudge
• sidestep
• waffle