trends

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of trend.

   Several clear trends emerged from the survey data.

   The report tracks long-term trends in global temperatures.

   Note

   A plural that carries every meaning of the noun: fashion trends and market trends, the statistician's trend lines, even the sailor's term for the lower end of an anchor's shank. In the sense of direction it usually takes in, as in trends in global temperatures. The same spelling is also the present-tense verb. In housing trends the word names patterns, but in housing trends upward it is the verb.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of trend.

   The graph trends downward toward the end of the quarter.

   A hashtag trends nationally whenever a major event unfolds.

   Note

   The form a singular subject takes in the simple present: the graph trends, a hashtag trends, with no auxiliary needed. In the sense of direction it wants a word of direction after it, such as trends downward or trends toward the coast. The informal sense of popularity can stand alone or name a place, as in trends nationally. Less familiar are the transitive sense "to bend" and the wool-cleaner's "to cleanse."

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