Hedge
A form of protection against risk, usually financial. A fuel hedge is a financial instrument or action that protects a fuel distributor against risk.
In the Merriam-Webster dictionary the word “hedge” is described as a noun, a transitive verb, and even an adjective.
• As a noun, hedge means “a fence or boundary formed by a dense row of shrubs or low trees; a means of protection or defense.”
• While as a transitive verb, the definition is “to protect oneself from losing or failing by a counterbalancing action.”
•Finally, as an adjective the definition is “of, or relating to, or designed for a hedge.”
All three of these definitions have one main theme – that a hedge is a form of protection.
