/ trend; NAmE / noun
trend (towards / in sth) a general direction in which a situation is changing or developing :
economic / social / political trends
There is a growing trend towards earlier retirement.
current trends in language teaching
a downward / an upward trend in sales
You seem to have set (= started) a new trend .
This trend is being reversed (= is going in the opposite direction) .
One region is attempting to buck (= oppose or resist) the trend of economic decline.
The underlying trend of inflation is still upwards.
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English trendan revolve, rotate , of Germanic origin; compare with trundle . The verb sense turn in a specified direction dates from the late 16th cent, and gave rise to the figurative use develop in a general direction in the mid 19th cent., a development paralleled in the noun.