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Trading term

Candlestick

A chart bar showing open, high, low and close for one period.

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By the Orca Crypto teamUpdated 2026-09-01How we check this3 min readDefinition
Definition

A chart bar showing open, high, low and close for one period.

The body spans the open and close. The wicks show the extremes reached during the period. Green usually means the close was above the open, red the reverse.

The shape carries information. A long lower wick means sellers pushed price down and buyers pushed it back up, which is a different story from a solid red body.

In practice

A doji, where open and close are nearly identical, signals indecision and often precedes a move.

What people get wrong

That the shape of a candle is a signal. A candle is a summary of one period on one timeframe, and the same price action looks completely different on a five minute chart and a daily one. Context and level matter far more than the shape.

Common questions

What do the wicks mean?
The extremes reached during the period that did not hold. A long wick shows price was rejected there, which tells you where the other side stepped in.
Does the color of a candle matter?
Only in that the close was above or below the open. Reading meaning into one candle without volume or context is the most common beginner mistake with charts.

Where this comes up on the site

The guides that actually use this word, rather than a list of everything we have written.

Where to go next

More trading terms

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