trend S3 W2 /trend/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: trendan 'to turn, go around' ]
1 . a general tendency in the way a situation is changing or developing
trend towards
Lately there has been a trend towards hiring younger, cheaper employees.
trend in
recent trends in education
The current trend is towards more part-time employment.
the general trend towards the centralization of political power
A disturbing trend is that victims of violence are getting younger.
The growing trend is for single mothers to bring up children by themselves.
Even so, the underlying trend is positive.
national and international economic trends
the downward trend in the price of gold
Successive presidents have tried to reverse this trend, but without success.
2 . set the trend to start doing something that other people copy:
Larger corporations are setting the trend for better maternity benefits.
3 . on trend fashionable – used especially in magazines:
This striped dress is bang on trend.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ a recent/new trend
He wrote an article attacking many recent trends in education.
▪ the current/latest trend
If current trends continue, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will double by the year 2030.
▪ a general trend (=one followed by most people or happening in most places)
There was a general trend towards marriage at a younger age.
▪ a growing/increasing/rising trend
a growing trend towards globalization in world markets
▪ an alarming/worrying/disturbing trend
I have detected a worrying trend of late.
▪ the underlying/long-term trend (=the trend over a long period of time)
The underlying trend is for rich economies to get richer.
▪ a downward/upward trend (=a tendency for something to increase or decrease)
The downward trend in population growth was not seen as a problem.
▪ economic/market trends
This forecast is based on current economic trends.
▪ the national trend
Crime rates in Manchester bucked the national trend.
▪ the international/world-wide/global trend
the global trend towards intensive farming
■ verbs
▪ reverse a trend (=make something start to change back)
He succeeded in reversing the downward trend of the railway’s fortunes.
▪ buck the trend (=do something that is not what is generally happening)
The recession may still be biting, but video games company Nintendo continues to buck the trend.
▪ follow a trend
Divorce rates in Scotland are following the general trend.
▪ start a trend
The young started a trend toward living in the downtown area.
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THESAURUS
▪ fashion noun [uncountable and countable] a style of clothes, hair, behaviour etc that is fashionable. Fashion is also used as an uncountable noun, when talking about all of these styles in general:
the latest fashions from Donna Karan
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changing fashions in popular music
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I'm not interested in fashion.
▪ vogue noun [singular,uncountable] if there is a vogue for something, or it is in vogue , it is fashionable. Vogue sounds more formal and typical of the language that more educated speakers use than fashion :
the current vogue for realistic animated films
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There was a vogue for cream furniture in the 1920s.
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His pictures are very much in vogue these days.
▪ trend noun [countable] a way of doing something or a way of thinking that is becoming fashionable or popular:
The magazine focuses on the latest trends in contemporary design.
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The trend is for people to wait longer to marry and have children.
▪ craze/fad noun [countable] informal a fashion, activity, type of music etc that suddenly becomes very popular, but only remains popular for a short time – often used about things that you think are rather silly:
a new fitness craze
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the current fad for bare white walls and uncomfortable-looking metal furniture
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I'm sure it's just a passing fad (=something that will soon stop being fashionable) .
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fad diets
▪ something is all the rage formal used when saying that something is very popular and fashionable for a short time:
The game was all the rage at her school.