From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhedgehedge1 /hedʒ/ ●●○ noun [countable] 1 DLGTAa row of small bushes or trees growing close together, usually dividing one field or garden from another2 PROTECTsomething that protects you against possible problems, especially financial losshedge against Buying a house will be a hedge against inflation. → look as if you’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards at drag1(13)
Examples from the Corpus
hedge• I was found asleep under a hedge, a partly sampled bottle still clutched protectively in my hands.• Now, crouching against the rough hedge, he considered the possibilities.• Even congressional leaders who pushed hardest for it were sufficiently nervous to build in some hedges against runaway presidential abuse.• I watched him as far as the corner of the curator's garden, and saw him turn in alongside the hedge.• From the other side of the hedge came the wild barking of hounds.• I watched from under the hedge when one day two big black cars came.• The hedges bordering the roads are valuable from a conservation standpoint.• Much of the old field pattern therefore remains, with its tangle of deep lanes and thick hedges.hedge against• In the 1970s, officials kept water in storage as a hedge against droughts.hedgehedge2 verb (hedged, hedging) [intransitive, transitive] 1 AVOIDto avoid giving a direct answer to a question You’re hedging again – have you got the money or haven’t you? ‘That depends on my partner, ’ she hedged.2 → hedge your bets → hedge against something → hedge in→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
hedge• This is a subservient way of talking in which everything is hedged about and nothing asserted outright.• Historically, this was driven by a complex web of lineage lines in which one set of loyalties was hedged against another.• Dunes of wood chips and mountains of logs rose even with the hillsides that hedged in the valley.• In each case, the reforms were hedged in with clauses designed to preserve leeway for the authorities.• However, that has not stopped the cable companies from hedging their bets by getting into the satellite business, too.From Longman Business Dictionaryhedgehedge1 /hedʒ/ noun [countable]FINANCE something that gives you protection against a financial risk, for example FUTURES (=agreements to buy or sell currencies etc on a fixed date in the future at a fixed price) or OPTIONs (=rights to buy or sell currencies etc at a particular price within a particular period of time or on a particular date in the future)They decided that diesel fuel for the company’s trucks would rise by at least 10 cents a gallon, and have done some forward buying as a hedge.hedge againstInvestors often buy precious metals as a hedge against inflation.hedgehedge2 verb [intransitive, transitive]1FINANCE if you hedge a financial risk, you protect yourself against it, for example with FUTURES (=agreements to buy or sell currencies etc on a fixed date in the future at a fixed price) or OPTIONs (=rights to buy or sell currencies etc at a particular price within a particular period of time or on a particular date in the future)I’ve never hedged currencies before. But I could see the dollar was getting lower, and I hedged for the first time, betting that the dollar would rise.Northwest Airlines saved more than $7 million in fuel costs because it hedged 4.2 million gallons of its fuel purchases for each month by buying futures contracts. —hedging noun [uncountable]Manufacturers have been doing more hedging because they expect prices for copper to rise.sophisticated currency hedging techniques2hedge your bets to reduce your chances of failure or loss by having several choices available to youPromoters, uncertain whether losing weight was going to stay popular, hedged their bets by advertising that their products could help you add weight or reduce it. → hedge against something→ See Verb tableOrigin hedge1 Old English hecg 