# hedge

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhɛd͡ʒ/ · frequency rank #10,554

## Definitions
1. A thicket of bushes or other shrubbery, especially one planted as a fence between two portions of land, or to separate the parts of a garden.
2. A barrier (often consisting of a line of persons or objects) to protect someone or something from harm.
3. A mound of earth, stone- or turf-faced, often topped with bushes, used as a fence between any two portions of land.
4. A noncommittal or intentionally ambiguous statement.
5. Contract or arrangement reducing one's exposure to risk (for example the risk of price movements or interest rate movements).
6. With indication of a person's upbringing, or professional activities, taking place by the side of the road; being third-rate, poor, shoddy.

## Etymology
From Middle English hegge, from Old English heċġ, from Proto-West Germanic *haggju, from Proto-Germanic *hagjō, from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm (“enclosure”). Cognate with Dutch heg, German Hecke. Doublet of hey (a choreographic figure) and quay. More at haw.

## Easily confused with
- **hee** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-hee)
- **here** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-here)
- **huge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-huge)
- **hide** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-hide)
- **Hyde** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-hyde)
- **hehe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-hehe)
- **hence** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-hence)
- **hinge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-hinge)
- **Hodge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-hodge)
- **Hesse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-hesse)
- **Hegel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-hegel)
- **Helga** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-helga)
- **Heine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-heine)
- **Hodges** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-hodges)
- **hedges** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-hedges)
- **hedged** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hedge-vs-hedged)
- **hed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hed-vs-hedge)
- **heave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heave-vs-hedge)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ehdge`, `hdege`, `heddge`, `hedeg`, `hedgge`, `hegde`, `hhedge`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/hedge