Market Structure & SMC Glossary

Plain-English definitions for the structure and Smart Money Concepts terms TickerAtlas uses. See the methodology for how they fit together.

Market structure

The pattern of swing highs and lows that defines whether a market is trending up, down, or ranging.

Higher high / higher low (HH/HL)

Successive swings each above the last — the signature of an uptrend.

Lower high / lower low (LH/LL)

Successive swings each below the last — the signature of a downtrend.

Break of structure (BOS)

Price breaking a prior swing in the direction of the trend, confirming its continuation.

Change of character (CHoCH)

The first break against the prevailing trend — an early sign the trend may be shifting.

Area of interest / zone

A price area where the market has repeatedly reacted (support, resistance, or a flip), making it a likely spot for the next reaction.

Pullback

A temporary move against the trend back into a zone — often the lower-risk place to enter in the trend’s direction.

Confluence

Multiple independent factors lining up at one place (e.g. a zone + a moving average + a Fibonacci level), strengthening a setup.

Multi-timeframe (top-down) analysis

Setting bias on higher timeframes (weekly/daily/4H) and refining entries on lower ones (1H/30m).

ATR (Average True Range)

A measure of a stock’s typical volatility, used to size zone widths so tolerances adapt per ticker.