hedge
verb/hedʒ/
/hedʒ/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they hedge | /hedʒ/ /hedʒ/ |
| he / she / it hedges | /ˈhedʒɪz/ /ˈhedʒɪz/ |
| past simple hedged | /hedʒd/ /hedʒd/ |
| past participle hedged | /hedʒd/ /hedʒd/ |
| -ing form hedging | /ˈhedʒɪŋ/ /ˈhedʒɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] to avoid giving a direct answer to a question or promising to support a particular idea, etc.
- Just answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’—and stop hedging.
Definitions on the go
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- [transitive] hedge something to put a hedge around a field, etc.
- [transitive, usually passive] (formal) to surround or limit somebody/something
- be hedged (with something) His religious belief was always hedged with doubt.
- be hedged around (with something) Their offer was hedged around with all sorts of conditions.
- [transitive, intransitive] hedge (something) (against something) (finance) to protect yourself against losing money from an investment or bet
- We've discussed hedging your portfolio against a possible market correction.
- They bought a number of futures contracts to hedge their position.
- Having hedged its fuel bill for the winter, the airline is considering continuing to hedge in the summer.
Word OriginOld English hegg, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heg and German Hecke.
Idioms
See hedge in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee hedge in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishhedge your bets
- to reduce the risk of losing or making a mistake by supporting more than one side in a competition, an argument, etc., or by having several choices available to you
- She hedged her bets by applying for various other jobs as well.
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hedge