Glossary
Trading glossary
Plain-English definitions of the trading terms the StraviFX app uses in its analyses, starting with market structure. Each page gives a short definition, a diagram, a worked example, the conventions traders disagree on and the mistakes beginners make, so you can check a term the moment you meet it.
Structure
- Market structureThe sequence of swing highs and lows a market prints: rising is bullish, falling is bearish, neither is a range.Read the definition
- Break of Structure (BOS)A candle close beyond the last swing high or low in the direction of the trend. It signals continuation.Read the definition
- Change of Character (CHoCH)The first break against the trend: an uptrend closing below its last higher low, or a downtrend above its last lower high.Read the definition
- Market Structure Shift (MSS)The confirmed flip that can follow a CHoCH: a failed swing in the old direction, then a close beyond the next swing.Read the definition
- Swing high / swing lowA candle whose high is above its neighbours, or whose low is below them. The pivots every structure reading is measured from.Read the definition
- Higher highs / higher lowsThe four swing labels (HH, HL, LH, LL) and what each combination says: uptrend, downtrend or range.Read the definition
- Range / consolidationPrice moving between a ceiling and a floor with no new highs or lows beyond them. A reason to wait, or to trade the edges.Read the definition
- RetestPrice coming back to a level it has just closed beyond, to see whether the level now holds from the other side.Read the definition
Liquidity
- LiquidityResting orders, mostly stop losses, that pool just beyond obvious highs, lows and round numbers. Price is often drawn toward them.Read the definition
- Liquidity sweep / stop huntA push past an obvious high or low that triggers the stops there, then closes back inside. A close beyond is a breakout.Read the definition
- Buy-side / sell-side liquidityBuy orders resting above price (BSL) and sell orders resting below it (SSL). The pools a move is likely to travel toward.Read the definition
- Equal highs / equal lowsTwo or more highs or lows at nearly the same price. A flat edge that collects stops, so a common sweep target.Read the definition
Zones
- Order block (OB)The last opposing candle before a strong move away. A zone price may return to, with the stop just beyond it.Read the definition
- Fair Value Gap (FVG)A three-candle gap where candle 1's high and candle 3's low don't overlap. Traded through fast, so often revisited.Read the definition
- Breaker blockA failed order block that price closes through, then returns to from the other side, where it can act the opposite way.Read the definition
- Mitigation blockA failed order block after a swing that fell short. Price breaks it, then returns from the other side as trapped traders exit.Read the definition
- Supply / demand zoneThe base a sharp move left from: demand below price, supply above. The first return to a fresh zone usually counts most.Read the definition
- Premium / discountA range split at its 50% midpoint, equilibrium. Buy in the discount half, sell in the premium half.Read the definition
- Optimal Trade Entry (OTE)The 62–79% pullback of the last impulse leg. A deep entry that keeps the stop close and the target far.Read the definition
Execution
Where to start
Read the structure terms in order. Each one builds on the last.
- Market structure: how to mark swing highs and lows and tell an uptrend, a downtrend and a range apart.
- Break of structure (BOS): what it looks like when a trend continues.
- Change of character (CHoCH): the first warning that a trend may be ending, and how it differs from a market structure shift.
How we define terms
Many trading terms, especially the smart-money ones, have no official definition, and the pages you find in search often disagree. Where that happens, each page names the common versions and says which one StraviFX uses. One rule runs through all of them: a level counts as broken only when a candle closes beyond it, not when a wick pokes through.
The definitions match the glossary inside the StraviFX app, so a term in your analysis means the same thing here. Diagrams are illustrations, not real prices.
Put the terms to work
Structure tells you where a stop loss and a target make sense. The free trading calculators turn those levels into numbers: the risk-to-reward ratio, the value of a pip and the lot size for your account.
Get StraviFX
Point your camera at any chart and StraviFX reads the structure, plans the entry, stop and targets, and sizes your risk. Free to download on Android, with optional subscriptions.
