I. ˈtrend verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English trenden to turn, revolve, from Old English trendan; akin to Old Frisian trind, trund round, Old English trinda, trinde round lump, ball, trendel circle, ring, Middle Low German trent ring, boundary, Middle High German trendel disk, spinning top, trinnen to run forth, tear away from, trennen to break off, sever, Old English teran to tear — more at tear
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to extend in a general direction : follow a general course
jagged ranges of mountains … trend north and south — G.R.Stewart
the track led into caverns that trended upwards into the rock — John Masefield
b. : to veer in a new direction : take a turn : bend , curve
Penobscot Bay … trends deeply into Maine — Bernard De Voto
2.
a. : to show an inherent tendency or general drift : incline , move
selling costs have trended upward — Printers' Ink
the direction Italian thought is trending — Fletcher Pratt
people have a right to know how affairs of such great moment are trending — Arthur Krock
b. : to become deflected : shift
the flow of population may trend his way — Alfred Marshall
transitive verb
: to cause to follow or conform to a trend
laying the several courses … and trending them to the abutments — Civil Engineer & Architect's Journal
trended costs
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : the line of direction or movement : orientation , flow
the long northeastern trend of the coast — Samuel Van Valkenburg & Ellsworth Huntington
b. : the directional line of a rock bed or petroleum deposit : strike
postulation of possible mineral trends — Economic Geology
the trends of all the oil-bearing belts are known with considerable accuracy — John Pain
c. : the lower end of the shank of an anchor from about the length of one of the arms to the throat
2.
a. : a prevailing tendency or inclination : drift , leaning
the trend of opinion was distinctively conservative — C.L.Becker
contemporary trends in education
the trend toward government participation in economic affairs — Louis Wasserman
b. : a general movement : swing
the trend away from the land — Frank Hamilton
the trend toward shorter work periods — H.M.Diamond
c. : a current style or preference : vogue
the longer waistline trend — Dorothy O'Neill
the trend of yellow in kitchens — Dun's Review
d. : a line of development : approach
important new trends in cancer have appeared in the clinical literature — D.A.Karnofsky
3.
a. : the general movement over a sufficiently long period of time of some statistical progressive change
trend of the stock market
population trend
upward trend of the cost of living
b. : a straight line or other statistical curve showing the tendency of some function to grow or decline over a period of time
a sensitive barometer of giving trends through mass mailings — Jerome Ellison
trends in parasitization — Journal of Economic Entomology
Synonyms: see tendency