01 n. The hook with its eye, or the joint, on which a door, gate, lid, etc., turns or swings; a flexible piece, as a strip of leather, which serv…
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1.
The hook with its eye, or the joint, on which a door, gate, lid, etc., turns or swings; a flexible piece, as a strip of leather, which serves as a joint to turn on.“The gate self-opened wide, On golden hinges turning.” — Milton.
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2.
That on which anything turns or depends; a governing principle; a cardinal point or rule; as, this argument was the hinge on which the question turned.
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3.
One of the four cardinal points, east, west, north, or south.[R.]“When the moon is in the hinge at East.” — Creech.“Nor slept the winds . . . but rushed abroad.” — Milton.
Phrases & compounds
Hinge joint —
See Ginglymus.
To be off the hinges —
to be in a state of disorder or irregularity; to have lost proper adjustment.