PLAIN-ENGLISH GLOSSARY · 32 TERMS

Trading words,
made simple.

New to charts? These are the words traders throw around all day. We spell out each one in plain English, the kind anyone could follow. Read one, get it, move on. Then see it live on a real chart.

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How to use this page
  1. Pick a word you keep seeing but never quite got.
  2. Read the one line under it. That's the whole idea, fast.
  3. Want more? Click the card for the full, simple guide, then watch it show up live on a real chart, free.

ICT / Smart Money Concepts

How the big players push price around and leave clues behind.

6 terms
Fair Value GapPrice jumps so fast it skips a spot. That empty spot often gets filled in later. Order BlockThe last candle before a big move. Price likes to come back and tap it again. Liquidity SweepPrice pokes just past a high or low to trick traders, then snaps right back. DisplacementOne big, fast candle. It shows the big money just stepped in hard. Consequent EncroachmentThe middle of a price gap. Price often comes back right to this line. Smart MoneyThe big banks and funds. They often push price against the small traders.

Market Structure

The highs and lows that tell you which way price is headed.

4 terms
Break of StructurePrice pushes past the last high or low. The trend keeps on going. Change of CharacterThe first clue that a trend is tired and may be about to flip. Market StructureThe pattern of highs and lows that tells you which way price is going. Swing High / Swing LowA clear peak or dip on the chart. An easy spot to read the trend.

Wyckoff Method

How big money quietly buys low and sells high.

3 terms
AccumulationBig money quietly buys while price moves sideways, right before a push up. DistributionBig money quietly sells to the crowd, right before a drop. SpringA fake dip below the floor. It traps sellers just before price jumps up.

Supply & Demand

Price areas where buyers or sellers took charge before.

2 terms
Supply ZoneA price area where sellers took over before. Price may drop there again. Demand ZoneA price area where buyers took over before. Price may bounce there again.

Price Action

Reading the chart from the candles alone, no fancy tools.

3 terms
PullbackA small dip inside a bigger up move. A nice spot to jump in. RetestPrice comes back to a line it broke, to see if it holds this time. BreakoutPrice finally pushes past a wall it has been stuck under.

Candlestick Patterns

Single candles, or pairs, that hint at what comes next.

3 terms
EngulfingOne big candle swallows the last one. A strong hint the trend may flip. DojiA candle that opens and closes at almost the same price. Nobody wins. HammerA candle with a long tail down. It shows buyers pushed price back up.

Chart Patterns

Shapes on the chart that tend to show up again and again.

1 term
Double Top / Double BottomPrice hits the same spot twice and can't pass. It often turns from there.

Volume Profile

Where the most trading happened, sorted by price.

3 terms
Point of ControlThe price with the most trades. It pulls price back like a magnet. Volume ProfileA side bar that shows which prices got the most trades. Market ProfileA day map that shows where price spent the most time.

Order Flow

Watching buyers and sellers fight it out in real time.

1 term
Cumulative DeltaA running score of buyers vs sellers. It shows who is winning.

Elliott Wave

The idea that price moves in a repeating wave count.

1 term
Elliott WaveThe idea that price moves in five steps up, then three steps back.

Harmonic Patterns

Chart shapes built on simple number ratios.

1 term
Gartley PatternA five-point shape on the chart that points to a likely turn.

Quantitative

Using a little math to spot when price is out of line.

2 terms
Mean ReversionWhen price runs too far, it often snaps back to normal. Z-ScoreA simple number that shows how far price is from normal.

Sessions & Timing

When the market is busiest and moves the most.

1 term
Kill ZoneThe busy hour when big traders wake up and price moves the most.

Risk Management

Keeping your losses small so you stay in the game.

1 term
Risk-Reward RatioHow much you can win versus how much you can lose on a trade.
No terms match that. Try a shorter word, like "gap" or "wave".

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