trend

[ trend ]

noun

1. the general course or prevailing tendency; drift:

   trends in the teaching of foreign languages; the trend of events.

2. style or vogue:

   the new trend in women's apparel.

3. the general direction followed by a road, river, coastline, or the like.

verb (used without object)

1. to have a general tendency, as events, conditions, etc.
2. to tend to take a particular direction; extend in some direction indicated.

   Synonyms: incline, run, stretch

3. to emerge as a popular trend; be currently popular:

   words that have trended this year.

4. Digital Technology. to be widely mentioned or discussed on the internet, especially in posts on social media websites:

   news stories that are trending online.

5. to veer or turn off in a specified direction, as a river, mountain range, etc.:

   The river trends toward the southeast.

trend

/ trɛnd /

noun

1. general tendency or direction
2. fashion; mode

verb

1. to take a certain trend

Other Words From

• counter·trend noun
• subtrend noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of trend¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English trenden “to turn, roll,” Old English trendan; akin to Old English trinde “ball,” Dutch trent “circumference,” Swedish trind “round;” trindle, trundle

Word History and Origins

Origin of trend¹

Old English trendan to turn; related to Middle Low German trenden

Synonym Study

See tendency.

Example Sentences

In addition to taking manual readings, Apple says the watch can periodically take readings in the background to create a record for tracking trends.

From Fortune

In the first part, we’ve explored trends, based on search data, and Gartner’s Hype Cycle to understand what’s transient and what’s here to stay, whether or not accelerated by the pandemic.

From Search Engine Land

As SEOs, we never know what is round the corner with Google’s guidelines, but we can certainly see the trend of brands taking center stage on page one.

From Search Engine Watch

On Thursday, Microsoft puts on sale its new Surface Duo device, a unique take on the folding phone trend that runs plenty of the company’s own mobile apps on top of Google’s Android operating system.

From Fortune

That trend of having a first-party data relationship with audiences, that’s long term and will outlive the coronavirus crisis by a long way.

From Digiday

But  Republican and Democratic parties have made efforts to reverse that trend.

From The Daily Beast

The trend is particularly concentrated in the coastal states where women are wealthier, more educated, and more liberal.

From The Daily Beast

As scientists followed these same people over time, however, a clear trend emerged.

From The Daily Beast

A successful trend-maker might be able to steer a conversation, but virality remains extremely difficult to predict.

From The Daily Beast

Nevetheless, Democratic rule has not only failed to halt the trend, but appears to have accelerated it.

From The Daily Beast

The station whence this bearing was taken was on the north-west trend of the point.

From Project Gutenberg

At the south side of the basin there are two or three inlets of considerable size, that trend in towards a low country.

From Project Gutenberg

But Garnache caught the trend of her mind, and he marvelled to see how strong a habit of thought can be.

From Project Gutenberg

Scattergood saw the trend of affairs early and gave them his earnest consideration.

From Project Gutenberg

And this last remark of hers indicated some knowledge or indication that might turn the trend of suspicion.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• direction
• movement
• tendency