hinge

A joint that connects a door or lid to its frame and lets it swing open and shut.

• The hinge is broken.
• I put some oil on the door hinges.
• She replaced the rusty hinge on the box.

Common phrases: door hinge, hinge pin, rusty hinge, metal hinge

A key idea or moment on which later thoughts or events depend.

• That choice became the hinge of the story.
• The discovery was a hinge in the history of medicine.
• Trust is the hinge on which her argument turns.

How to use it: the hinge on which something turns (This assumption is the hinge on which the whole argument turns.)

Similar words: turning point, crux

Common phrases: hinge of history, a crucial hinge, hinge of something

If a result depends on something, that thing decides whether it happens or succeeds.

• Our plans hinge on the weather.
• The deal hinged on her approval.
• Does success hinge on finding the right partner?

How to use it: hinge on someone/something (The project hinges on getting enough money.); hinge on whether… (Our trip hinges on whether we can get tickets.)

Similar words: depend, rest

Common phrases: hinge on something, hinge upon something

To attach a door, lid, or other part with a joint that lets it swing.

• They hinged the lid at the back.
• The carpenter hinged the door to its frame.
• Can we hinge this panel along its lower edge?

How to use it: hinge something to something (She hinged the wooden cover to the frame.)

Common phrases: hinge a door, hinge a lid, hinge at something

When shaping stone, to break off with a rounded end before reaching the intended edge.

• The flake hinged before reaching the edge.
• A flaw in the stone caused the flake to hinge.
• These flakes often hinge when the blow is too weak.

Common phrases: flake may hinge, hinge at something