Meaning & use
hinge
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A metal or plastic joint that fastens a door, lid, or gate to a frame so that it can swing open and shut.
Grammar: Usually a countable noun: the door has three hinges.
Patterns
- a hinge on something
- the hinge of a door
The door squeaked because the top hinge was rusty.
He tightened the screws on the cabinet hinge.
A small hinge connects the lid to the box.
nounusually singularfigurative
A key point or fact on which something else turns or depends.
Grammar: Often used figuratively, as in the hinge of the story.
Patterns
- the hinge of something
- a hinge between two things
The chapter on the war is the hinge of the whole book.
A single vote was the hinge on which the decision turned.
That meeting was the hinge between her old career and her new one.
verbintransitive
To depend completely on one thing, so that the result changes according to it.
Grammar: Followed by on or upon: the plan hinges on the weather.
Patterns
- hinge on something
- hinge upon something
The whole deal hinges on whether the bank approves the loan.
Our picnic plans hinge on the weather.
The case hinged upon a single witness.
verbtransitivetechnical
To attach something with a hinge, or to move on one.
Grammar: Takes an object, often in the passive: the lid is hinged at the back.
Patterns
- hinge something to something
- be hinged at something
The carpenter hinged the new gate to the post.
The panel is hinged at the top so it lifts up.
Both sides of the screen are hinged to the frame.
Word forms
| plural | hinges |
|---|---|
| third person singular | hinges |
| past tense | hinged |
| past participle | hinged |
| -ing form | hinging |
Common combinations
- hinge on
- Her promotion may hinge on the results of this project.
- squeaky hinge
- A squeaky hinge needs a drop of oil.
- door hinge
- He replaced the broken door hinge.
- rusty hinge
- The rusty hinge finally snapped.
- hinge on a single point
- The argument hinges on a single point.
Synonyms and how they differ
- depend
- Depend is the general word, while hinge implies one crucial factor decides the whole result.
- turn
- Turn is a looser word for being decided by something, and it usually needs on as well.
- rest
- Rest suggests that an idea is supported by something, while hinge suggests a decisive pivot.
- pivot
- Pivot is a related image of turning on a point, but it is more often used for movement than dependence.
Word family
Commonly confused: hinge or hung? hinge or binge?
hinge vs hung
Hung is the past tense of hang and is unrelated to hinged, though a door can be both hung and hinged.
hinge vs binge
A binge is a short period of too much of something, such as eating, and sounds similar to hinge.
Practice
Our trip ______ the weather forecast. If it rains, we will stay home.
Choose one answer.
Hinge takes the preposition on to show what something depends on. At, by, and from do not combine with hinge in this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hinge”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.