What is the trendline breakdown pattern?
The trendline breakdown is a bearish breakout pattern. Price closes below an ascending trendline fitted to the recent lows, ending the run of higher lows.
How to spot a trendline breakdown
- 1Draw a rising trendline through at least two or three higher lows.
- 2Watch price come back to the line.
- 3A breakdown is a close below the line, not just a wick through it.
How does the trendline breakdown form?
Price closes below a trendline fitted to the recent lows, ending a run of higher lows.
How do you confirm a trendline breakdown?
The line that supported every dip becomes the ceiling on the way back up. Watch whether the retest holds from below.
When does the trendline breakdown fail?
A single close through a long-standing line is weak evidence; the steeper the line, the more easily it is broken by ordinary consolidation.
No chart pattern works every time. The examples on this page were chosen because they show the pattern clearly, and in real markets patterns fail often.
Practice on real charts
3 real examples of the trendline breakdown, cut off where the pattern completed. Make your call, then see what happened.
The shaded area is a trendline breakdown. Where did price go next?
Trendline Breakdown: common questions
Is the trendline breakdown bullish or bearish?
The trendline breakdown is bearish. The line that supported every dip becomes the ceiling on the way back up.
How do you spot a trendline breakdown?
Draw a rising trendline through at least two or three higher lows. Watch price come back to the line. A breakdown is a close below the line, not just a wick through it.
What is the difference between the trendline breakdown and the trendline breakout?
The trendline breakdown: Price closes below an ascending trendline fitted to the recent lows, ending the run of higher lows. The trendline breakout: Price closes above a descending trendline fitted to the recent highs, ending the run of lower highs.
How reliable is the trendline breakdown?
No chart pattern works every time. A single close through a long-standing line is weak evidence; the steeper the line, the more easily it is broken by ordinary consolidation. That is why it helps to wait for confirmation and to practice on many real examples before relying on it.
How can I practice spotting the trendline breakdown?
Use the real charts on this page: each one stops where the trendline breakdown completed, so you can make a call and then see what happened. The free Chartle app mixes the trendline breakdown in with 48 other patterns in short daily sessions.
Keep learning
- Chart pattern gameGuess where price goes next on real charts, all 49 patterns mixed.
- All 49 chart patternsEvery bullish and bearish pattern, with a printable cheat sheet.
- How to read candlestick chartsBodies, wicks and colors explained from the start.
- Cheat sheet PDFAll patterns on two printable pages.
