Market structure
The pattern of highs and lows that shows whether a market is trending or ranging.
Market structure is the shape the highs and lows make on a chart. It is the foundation for almost everything else in chart reading, because it tells you whether a market is trending up, trending down, or moving sideways.
Higher highs and higher lows make bullish structure. Lower highs and lower lows make bearish structure. When a market that was making higher lows suddenly makes a lower low, traders call it a break of structure, an early warning that the trend may be changing.
Reading structure first, before indicators, keeps your analysis grounded in what price is actually doing. It is the first skill TRADECRAFT teaches in Stage 1.
Example: a chart rises from $40 to $46, dips to $43, then climbs to $49. The high and the low both rose, so structure is bullish until a lower low appears.
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Educational definition. Not financial advice; no real-money execution.