Volatility
Definition · Level 0 · Market basics
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How widely and quickly prices swing, usually measured as the annualized standard deviation of returns; high means big moves both ways, not just down.
Example
20% annualized ÷ 16 ≈ 1.25%: a typical (one standard deviation) daily move.
Where Tradecraft teaches it
Level 0 · Market basics, in the lesson “Indices, funds & market regimes”: The benchmarks everyone quotes, how ETFs track them, and the vocabulary for market moves.
Related terms
- 52-week high / all-time highThe highest price over the past year of trading / the highest price ever recorded (split-adjusted).
- BetaA stock’s or portfolio’s average sensitivity to the market: the % move expected for a 1% benchmark move.
- Bull / bear marketA rise of 20% or more from a recent low / a fall of 20% or more from a recent peak; a convention usually applied to the S&P 500.
- Candlestick (OHLC)Chart bar showing a period’s open, high, low and close: the body spans open to close, colored green (up) or red (down) by convention, and thin wicks…
- Cap-weighted indexA benchmark where each company counts in proportion to its market value, often float-adjusted, so the biggest names dominate the moves: S&P 500…
- CorrectionA decline of at least 10%, but less than 20%, from a recent peak.