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hedge

Pronunciation: /hɛdʒ/
Translate hedge | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of hedge

noun

  • 1a fence or boundary formed by closely growing bushes or shrubs:a privet hedge
  • 2a way of protecting oneself against financial loss or other adverse circumstances:index-linked gilts are a useful hedge against inflation
  • 3a word or phrase used to avoid overprecise commitment, for example etc., often, or sometimes.

verb

[with object]
  • 1surround with a hedge:a garden hedged with yew
  • (hedge something in) enclose something: the cathedral is closely hedged in by other buildings
  • 2limit or qualify (something) by conditions or exceptions:they hedged their story about with provisos
  • [no object] avoid making a definite statement or commitment:he hedged at every new question
  • 3protect (one’s investment or an investor) against loss by making balancing or compensating contracts or transactions: the company hedged its investment position on the futures market [no object]:the depth of the Treasury futures market makes it a popular place to hedge against adverse market swings

Phrases

hedge one's bets

avoid committing oneself when faced with a difficult choice: they hedged their bets by saying they might apply

Derivatives

hedger

noun

Origin:

Old English hegg, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heg and German Hecke

hedge in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of hedge in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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