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.-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.-one of the four cardinal points, east, west, north, or south.-to attach by, or furnish with, hinges.-to bend.-to stand, depend, hang, or turn, as on a hinge; to depend chiefly for a result or decision or for force and validity; -- usually with on or upon; as, the argument hinges on this point.