Definition of "hinge" []

• A jointed or flexible device that allows the turning or pivoting of a part, such as a door or lid, on a stationary frame. (noun)
• A similar structure or part, such as one that enables the valves of a bivalve mollusk to open and close. (noun)
• A small folded paper rectangle gummed on one side, used especially to fasten stamps in an album. (noun)
• A point or circumstance on which subsequent events depend. (noun)
• To attach by or equip with or as if with hinges or a hinge. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Murkowski, whose hopes for another term hinge on her winning a write-in effort, undisputedly held 89.8 percent of that vote with 45,132 ballots counted so far."
• ""Of course, the hinge is the term 'athletic event,'" says David."
• "I am a member of what I call the hinge generation."