From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhedge your betshedge your betsCHANCE/OPPORTUNITYto reduce your chances of failure or loss by trying several different possibilities instead of one It’s a good idea to hedge your bets by applying to more than one college. → hedge
Examples from the Corpus
hedge your bets• I made a decision, or rather I hedged my bets.• Maybe, I tell myself, I was really hedging my bets.• Pat Hayes, a 10-year plant veteran at the age of 30, has already begun to hedge her bets.• Still, it always is wise to hedge our bets about the future.• Dealers on the foreign exchange markets were also hedging their bets and the pound was also on ice.• It's a good idea to hedge your bets by applying to more than one college.• However, that has not stopped the cable companies from hedging their bets by getting into the satellite business, too.• Now, what will we have to hedge our bets on?• Not surprisingly, Whitehall has been hedging its bets with officials preparing briefs to cover a variety of eventualities. 