What does "trend" mean?
An inclination in a particular direction.
Trend
/tɹɛnd/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An inclination in a particular direction.
- Grammar: trend is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: drift, tendency, vogue, advance.
- Useful contrasts: absence of pattern, anomaly, deviate.
- Usage evidence: This has been the trend for the past twenty years.
How to use "trend"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "trend" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "trend" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "trend" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "trend" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "trend" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "drift" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "trend", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An inclination in a particular direction.
"the trend of a coastline"
- 2 Clean wool. UK, dated, dialectal, uncountable
- 3 the popular taste at a given time wordnet
- 4 A tendency.
"There is a trend, these days, for people in films not to smoke."
- 5 a general tendency to change (as of opinion) wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 A fad or fashion style.
"Miniskirts were one of the biggest trends of the 1960s."
- 7 general line of orientation wordnet
- 8 A line drawn on a graph that approximates the trend of a number of disparate points.
- 9 a general direction in which something tends to move wordnet
- 10 The lower end of the shank of an anchor, being the same distance on the shank from the throat that the arm measures from the throat to the bill.
- 11 The angle made by the line of a vessel's keel and the direction of the anchor cable, when she is swinging at anchor.
Verb
- 1 To have a particular direction; to run; to stretch; to tend. intransitive
"The shore of the sea trends to the southwest."
- 2 To cleanse or clean (something, usually wool).
- 3 turn sharply; change direction abruptly wordnet
- 4 To cause to turn; to bend. transitive
"Not farre beneath i' the Valley as ſhe trends / Her ſiluer ſtreame, ſome VVood-nymphs and her friends / That follovv'd to her aide, beholding hovv / The Brooke came gliding, […]"
- 5 to be temporarily popular wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To be the subject of a trend; to be currently popular, relevant or interesting. informal, intransitive
"What topics have been trending on social networks this week?"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A town in Vesthimmerland Municipality, North Jutland, Denmark.
Antonyms
Example
"This has been the trend for the past twenty years."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "trend"?
Common synonyms include: drift, tendency, vogue, advance, affluence, afflux.
How do you use "trend" in a sentence?
This has been the trend for the past twenty years.
How do you pronounce "trend"?
Pronounced /tɹɛnd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English trenden (“to roll about, turn, revolve”), from Old English trendan (“to roll about, turn, revolve”), from Proto-West Germanic *trandijan (“to turn, roll, revolve”), apparently derived from a strong verb Proto-West Germanic *trindan. Cognate with Dutch trent (“circumference”). Akin to Old English trinde (“ball”), Old English tryndel (“circle, ring”). More at trindle, trundle.
Etymology 2
Compare German trennen (“to separate”).