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

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

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

A group of miffed hedge funds—who were among the disfavored creditors—attacked the proposal from every angle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Your adviser’s suggestion to manage $700,000 of your assets through a proprietary equity hedge strategy gives me pause.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

David Sambur of Apollo was, the authors write, “a pit bull constantly in attack mode,” while Bruce Bennett, the hedge funds’ lawyer, “always had to have the last word.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

By the end of 2006, according to the PerTrac Hedge Fund Database Study, there were 13,675 hedge funds reporting results, and thousands of other types of institutional investors allowed to invest in credit default swaps.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

They can be found in tall trees, hedges, brambles and buildings.

From BBC ● 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

Her fund, Safkhet Capital, had no hedges or long positions—just a handful of bets against companies she believed were predatory businesses or frauds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 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

I’d gone only a few steps when I noticed something gray shoved into one of the well-manicured hedges, and despite my preoccupation I paused to grab it.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

In this way, you will be largely hedged against changes in interest rates across the credit spectrum.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

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

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

Where we have hedged fields and parklands, they had village communities, moorlands, fens and forests of enormous size.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

That’s a private customized investment approach designed to reduce losses during market downturns by combining investments in stocks with hedging tools such as options, futures and/or short-selling.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

The figures are adjusted for gains and losses from hedging instruments, foreign exchange derivatives and other items.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Volatility of prices — which affects risk models, availability of credit and hedging costs — is high.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

Most oil-and-gas companies lock in higher prices through hedging.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Two of the archers followed them, a wordless presence hedging them in.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

Related Words

• fudge
• sidestep
• waffle