a row of bushes or small trees planted close together, esp. when forming a fence or boundary; hedgerow

small fields separated by hedges.

any barrier or boundary

a hedge of stones.

an act or means of preventing complete loss of a bet, an argument, an investment, or the like, with a partially counterbalancing or qualifying one.

to enclose with or separate by a hedge

to hedge a garden.

to surround and confine as if with a hedge; restrict (often fol. by in, about, etc.)

He felt hedged in by the rules of language.

to protect with qualifications that allow for unstated contingencies or for withdrawal from commitment

He hedged his program against attack and then presented it to the board.

to mitigate a possible loss by counterbalancing (one's bets, investments, etc.).

to prevent or hinder free movement; obstruct

to be hedged by poverty.

to avoid a rigid commitment by qualifying or modifying a position so as to permit withdrawal

He felt that he was speaking too boldly and began to hedge before they could contradict him.

to prevent complete loss of a bet by betting an additional amount or amounts against the original bet.

Finance . to enter transactions that will protect against loss through a compensatory price movement.

verb

confront , face , meet , release

noun

barrier , bush , enclosure , fence , guard , hedgerow , hurdle , protection , quickset , screen , shrubbery , thicket , windbreak , ambiguity , equivoque , euphemism , prevarication , shuffle , tergiversation , weasel word , maze , plash , pleach , septum , topiary

verb

beat around the bush , be noncommittal , blow hot and cold * , cop a plea , cop out * , duck , equivocate , evade , flip-flop * , fudge * , give the run around , hem and haw * , jive * , pass the buck * , prevaricate , pussyfoot * , quibble , run around , shilly-shally * , shuck * , shuffle , sidestep , sit on the fence , stall , stonewall * , temporize , tergiversate , tergiverse , waffle * , block , border , cage , confine , coop , corral , edge , fence , girdle , hem in , hinder , immure , obstruct , pen , restrict , ring , siege , surround , begird , beset , circle , compass , encircle , encompass , environ , gird , hem , besiege , close in , enclose , envelop , euphemize , weasel , dodge , skirt , avoid , barrier , beg the question , bound , boundary , bush , guard , hurdle , obstacle , protect , pussyfoot , separate , straddle , waffle