- (n.) A thicket of bushes, usually thorn bushes; especially, such a thicket planted as a fence between any two portions of land; and also any sort of shrubbery, as evergreens, planted in a line or as a fence; particularly, such a thicket planted round a field to fence it or in rows to separate the parts of a garden.
- (v.i.) To shelter one's self from danger, risk, duty, responsibility, etc., as if by hiding in or behind a hedge; to skulk; to slink; to shirk obligations.
- (v.t.) To surround so as to prevent escape.
- (v.t.) To surround for defense; to guard; to protect; to hem (in).
- (v.t.) To inclose or separate with a hedge; to fence with a thickly set line or thicket of shrubs or small trees; as, to hedge a field or garden.
- (v.i.) To use reservations and qualifications in one's speech so as to avoid committing one's self to anything definite.
- (v.t.) To obstruct, as a road, with a barrier; to hinder from progress or success; -- sometimes with up and out.
- (v.i.) To reduce the risk of a wager by making a bet against the side or chance one has bet on.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). hedge. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/hedge/definitions/2015600 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "hedge" http://smartdefine.org/hedge/definitions/2015600 (accessed September 22, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, hedge, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/hedge/definitions/2015600>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "hedge" 27 May 2011. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/hedge/definitions/2015600> |