26984 words

hedge

13 definitions • 19 examples
1
a line of bushes or small trees planted very close together, especially along the edge of a garden, field, or road:

Examples:

a privet hedge
2
a way of protecting, controlling, or limiting something:

Examples:

hedge against She'd made some overseas investments as a hedge against rising inflation in this country.
3
a word or phrase that makes what you say less strong
4
to limit something severely:

Examples:

be hedged about with We've got permission, but it's hedged about with strict conditions.
be hedged around with Any answer to that question has to be hedged around with lots of caveats.
5
to try to avoid giving an answer or taking any action:

Examples:

Stop hedging and tell me what you really think.
6
to protect yourself from a risk, especially a financial one:

Examples:

hedge a risk These bonds would help financial funds hedge their risks.
hedge against Higher worldwide inflation has increased the need for investors to hedge against unexpected price changes.
7
a line of bushes or small trees planted close together, esp. along the edge of a yard or road
8
a means of protection, control, or limitation:

Examples:

She invested in foreign companies as a hedge against inflation.
9
to limit something severely:

Examples:

[ T ] Congressmen were warned against hedging their support for the missile program.
10
To hedge is also to try to avoid giving an answer or taking any action:

Examples:

[ I ] Officials continued to hedge on exactly when the program would begin.
11
an investment made in order to reduce the risk of losing money on shares, bonds, etc. that you own, for example, by buying futures (= agreements to sell shares for a particular price at a date in the future) or options (= the rights to buy or sell shares for a particular price within a particular time period):

Examples:

These formulas are devised to tell the bank what kind of hedges to purchase to provide the best possible protection of its assets.
a hedge against sth In recent years, investors have also bought gold as a hedge against US dollar weakness.
12
to reduce the risk of losing money on shares, bonds, etc. that you own, for example by buying futures (= agreements to sell shares for a particular price at a date in the future) or options (= the rights to buy or sell shares for a particular price within a particular time period):

Examples:

European airports have been attracting investors keen to hedge long-term pension liabilities.
We don't tend to hedge at all - in either stock or bond funds.
hedge against sth Companies can hedge against currency movements, but many choose not to.
hedge risk/exposure Airbus has hedged enough of its dollar exposure that a major short-term impact is unlikely.
13
to reduce the risk of failure or of losing money by making sure that you can choose between different possibilities:

Examples:

Some business leaders hedged their bets by donating money to both parties.
Futures contracts allow companies in the nuclear sector to hedge their bets against price rises this year, next year or 10 years from now.

Navigation