A range, also called consolidation or a sideways market, describes price moving back and forth between a fairly consistent ceiling and floor. The upper boundary acts as resistance and the lower boundary as support, and price tends to oscillate between them.
Ranges represent a balance between buyers and sellers where neither side has established lasting control. They can be brief pauses within a larger trend or extended periods of equilibrium, and they often precede a breakout when one side eventually dominates.
Identifying a range helps frame context: it describes the current condition of the market as bounded rather than directional. Ranges are descriptive of behavior and can end at any time, so recognizing one is about understanding the present structure, not predicting when or where it will break.