hinge

[hinj]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hinge ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a jointed device or flexible piece on which a door, gate, shutter, lid, or other attached part turns, swings, or moves.

a natural anatomical joint at which motion occurs around a transverse axis, as that of the knee or a bivalve shell.

that on which something is based or depends; pivotal consideration or factor.

Also called mount. Philately. a gummed sticker for affixing a stamp to a page of an album, so folded as to form a hinge, allowing the stamp to be raised to reveal the text beneath.

verb (used without object), hinged, hing·ing.

to be dependent or contingent on, or as if on, a hinge (usually followed by on or upon): Everything hinges on his decision.

verb (used with object), hinged, hing·ing.

to furnish with or attach by a hinge or hinges.

to attach as if by a hinge.

to make or consider as dependent upon; predicate: He hinged his action on future sales.

Origin of hinge

1250–1300; Middle English henge; cognate with Low German heng(e), Middle Dutch henge hinge; akin to hang

Related formshinge·less, adjectivehinge·like, adjectivere·hinge, verb (used with object), re·hinged, re·hing·ing.well-hinged, adjective

Synonyms for hinge

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hinge ON THESAURUS.COM

5. rest, swing, pivot, depend.

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

Related Words for hinged

depend, pivot, hang, rest, turn, pend

Examples from the Web for hinged

Contemporary Examples of hinged

And this is to say nothing of election strategies that hinged on racial resentment.
GOP Strategists to Party: Hug More Brown Kids
Jamelle Bouie
January 22, 2014
The case against them hinged on the testimony of their accomplice Nathaniel Simms.
The Week’s Best Longreads for March 16, 2013
David Sessions
March 16, 2013

Historical Examples of hinged

The ornithopter has hinged planes which work like the wings of a bird.
Flying Machines
W.J. Jackman and Thos. H. Russell
He rose up straightening himself as though he were a hinged figure.
Chance
Joseph Conrad
The tubes will then be closed upon one another as if they were hinged at the joint.
On Laboratory Arts
Richard Threlfall
They still had air; his helmet was off, but it was attached and hinged back.
Space Viking
Henry Beam Piper
Where it is desired to have the hinged portion open flat and no more.
Handwork in Wood
William Noyes

British Dictionary definitions for hinged

hinge

noun

a device for holding together two parts such that one can swing relative to the other, typically having two interlocking metal leaves held by a pin about which they pivot

anatomy a type of joint, such as the knee joint, that moves only backwards and forwards; a joint that functions in only one planeTechnical name: ginglymus

a similar structure in invertebrate animals, such as the joint between the two halves of a bivalve shell

something on which events, opinions, etc, turn

Also called: mount philately a small thin transparent strip of gummed paper for affixing a stamp to a page

verb

(tr) to attach or fit a hinge to (something)

(intr; usually foll by on or upon) to depend (on)

(intr) to hang or turn on or as if on a hinge

Derived Formshinged, adjectivehingeless, adjectivehingelike, adjective

Word Origin for hinge

C13: probably of Germanic origin; compare Middle Dutch henge; see hang

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 hinged

hinge

c.1300, "the axis of the earth;" late 14c. as "movable joint of a gate or door," not found in Old English, cognate with Middle Dutch henghe "hook, handle," Middle Low German henge "hinge," from Proto-Germanic *hanhan (transitive), *hangen (intransitive), from PIE *konk- "to hang" (see hang (v.)). The notion is the thing from which a door hangs.

hinge

c.1600, "to bend," from hinge (n.). Meaning "turn on, depend" is from 1719. Related: Hinged; hinging.

hinged in Medicine

hinge

[hĭnj]

n.

A jointed or flexible device that allows the turning or pivoting of a part, such as a door or lid, on a stationary frame.