hedge
(hĕj)
[Middle English, from Old English hecg.]
noun
- A row of closely planted shrubs or low-growing trees forming a fence or boundary.
- A line of people or objects forming a barrier: a hedge of spectators along the sidewalk.
- A means of protection or defense, especially against financial loss: a hedge against inflation.
- A securities transaction that reduces the risk on an existing investment position.
- An intentionally noncommittal or ambiguous statement.
- A word or phrase, such as possibly or I think, that mitigates or weakens the certainty of a statement.
verb: hedged, hedg·ing, hedg·es.
transitive verb
- To enclose or bound with or as if with hedges.
- To hem in, hinder, or restrict with or as if with a hedge.
- To minimize or protect against the loss of by counterbalancing one transaction, such as a bet, against another.
intransitive verb
- To plant or cultivate hedges.
- To take compensatory measures so as to counterbalance possible loss.
- To avoid making a clear, direct response or statement.
derivatives
- hedǵer
- noun
- hedǵy
- adjective
