hinge

UK: /ˈhɪndʒ/ US: /hɪndʒ/ ,(hinj)

Inflections of 'hinge' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

hinges

v 3rd person singular

hinging

v pres p

hinged

v past

hinged

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

hinge /hɪndʒ/   n., v., hinged, hing•ing. 
n. [countable]

1. Building, Zoology a jointed device or flexible piece on which a door or gate turns or moves.

v. [~ + on/upon + object]

2. to be dependent on;
   depend on:
   Everything hinges on her decision.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

hinge  (hinj), n., v., hinged, hing•ing. 
n. 

1. Building, Zoology a jointed device or flexible piece on which a door, gate, shutter, lid, or other attached part turns, swings, or moves.
2. Anatomy a natural anatomical joint at which motion occurs around a transverse axis, as that of the knee or a bivalve shell.
3. that on which something is based or depends;
   pivotal consideration or factor.
4. Stamps Also called mount. [Philately.] a gummed sticker for affixing a stamp to a page of an album, so folded as to form a hinge, allowing the stamp to be raised to reveal the text beneath.

v.i. 

5. to be dependent or contingent on, or as if on, a hinge (usually fol. by on or upon):
   Everything hinges on his decision.

v.t. 

6. Building to furnish with or attach by a hinge or hinges.
7. to attach as if by a hinge.
8. to make or consider as dependent upon;
   predicate:
   He hinged his action on future sales.

• 1250–1300; Middle English henge; cognate with Low German heng(e), Middle Dutch henge hinge; akin to hang

hinge′less, adj. 
hinge′like′, adj. 
Synonyms

• 5. rest, swing, pivot, depend.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

hinge / hɪndʒ/ noun

1. a device for holding together two parts such that one can swing relative to the other, typically having two interlocking metal leaves held by a pin about which they pivot
2. a type of joint, such as the knee joint, that moves only backwards and forwards; a joint that functions in only one plane
3. a similar structure in invertebrate animals, such as the joint between the two halves of a bivalve shell
4. something on which events, opinions, etc, turn
5. Also called: mount a small thin transparent strip of gummed paper for affixing a stamp to a page

verb

1. (transitive) to attach or fit a hinge to (something)
2. (intr; usually followed by on or upon) to depend (on)
3. (intransitive) to hang or turn on or as if on a hinge

Etymology: 13th Century: probably of Germanic origin; compare Middle Dutch henge; see hang

hinged adjective