There is the generally used everyday definition. But todays trading is done by computers, they need a definition based on price change over a specified period.
Trend is a price movement from entry price to target price without being stopped out on the trade.imho
1.Trend is a continuous price movement in one direction. 2. Trend has some distance and duration that traders can enter, follow and exit so to profit from it. A continuous price movement, if too short too soon, is not a trend , because traders would not be able to enter, follow and exit it. 3. Trend is recognizable. A continuous price movement, if not recognizable, would be the same thing as random price movement.
Conditional Requirement: any proffered definition of "trend" must not be dependent on post hoc analysis.
Every...trading Definition makes it seem or sound so simple, and easy and linear. -- and in some ways, in Hindsight, it is. But what's more important, or vital, is your ability to understand and see things in real time -- which is slightly more complex...and many people fail during this paramount part,
If not able to look at a chart and instantly recognize what the trend is, then the person should not be trading.
But that's what human discretionary traders do as well. They define the trend on time frames. I fail to see the distinction in your pointing.
Trend (for example an uptrend) is based on a HH followed by a HL followed by a HH in the time frame that you are trading. These symbols can be generated by your charting software instead of hand drawing by using an indicator. The benefit of using these symbols and not drawing a trend channel or line is that in real life candles can and do appear outside of the trend lines. However, seeing the trend does not mean that is how you need to trade. For example, if you see evidence that a strong double bottom for the day is holding, then you could trade against the current down trend for a bounce off of this bottom. The experience is being able to NOT pick bottoms in a falling trend. This can be because the overall trend in a larger time frame for example for oil could be in a tight range, and so bottoms and tops might hold vs another derivative that trends say up in a higher time frame causing the lower time frame tops to not hold.