op⋅tion
[op-shuh
n]
| 1. | the power or right of choosing. |
| 2. | something that may be or is chosen; choice. |
| 3. | the act of choosing. |
| 4. | an item of equipment or a feature that may be chosen as an addition to or replacement for standard equipment and features: a car with a long list of extra-cost options; a telephoto lens option for a camera. |
| 5. | stock option. |
| 6. | a privilege acquired, as by the payment of a premium or consideration, of demanding, within a specified time, the carrying out of a transaction upon stipulated terms; the right, as granted in a contract or by an initial payment, of acquiring something in the future: We bought one lot and took a 90-day option on an adjoining one. |
| 7. | Football. a play in which a back has a choice of either passing or running with the ball. |
| 8. | to acquire or grant an option on: The studio has optioned his latest novel for film adaptation. |
| 9. | to provide with optional equipment: The car can be fully optioned at additional cost. |
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
op·tion (ŏp'shən) n.
[Latin optiō, optiōn-.] |
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Option
Op"tion\, n. [L. optio; akin to optare to choose, wish, optimus best, and perh. to E. apt: cf. F. option.]1. The power of choosing; the right of choice or election; an alternative. There is an option left to the United States of America, whether they will be respectable and prosperous, or contemptible and miserable, as a nation. --Washington. 2. The exercise of the power of choice; choice. Transplantation must proceed from the option of the people, else it sounds like an exile. --Bacon. 3. A wishing; a wish. [Obs.] --Bp. Hall. 4. (Ch. of Eng.) A right formerly belonging to an archbishop to select any one dignity or benefice in the gift of a suffragan bishop consecrated or confirmed by him, for bestowal by himself when next vacant; -- annulled by Parliament in 1845. 5. (Stock Exchange) A stipulated privilege, given to a party in a time contract, of demanding its fulfillment on any day within a specified limit. Buyer's option, an option allowed to one who contracts to buy stocks at a certain future date and at a certain price, to demand the delivery of the stock (giving one day's notice) at any previous time at the market price. Seller's option, an option allowed to one who contracts to deliver stock art a certain price on a certain future date, to deliver it (giving one day's notice) at any previous time at the market price. Such options are privileges for which a consideration is paid. Local option. See under Local. Syn: Choice; preference; selection. Usage: Option, Choice. Choice is an act of choosing; option often means liberty to choose, and implies freedom from constraint in the act of choosing.Cite This Source
option
Cite This Source
Option
A privilege sold by one party to another that offers the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy (call) or sell (put) a security at an agreed-upon price during a certain period of time or on a specific date.
Investopedia Commentary
Options are extremely versatile securities that can be used in many different ways. Traders use options to speculate, which is a relatively risky practice, while hedgers use options to reduce the risk of holding an asset.
Related Links
Options Basics Tutorial
Trading A Stock Versus Stock Options - Part One
Trading A Stock Versus Trading Stock Options - Part Two
See also: American Option, Call, Derivative, Embedded Option, Employee Stock Option (ESO), European Option, Index Option, Intrinsic Value, LEAPS, Leverage, Max Pain, Option Chain, Options Contract, Put, Spread, Strike Price, Time Value, Writer
Cite This Source
option
- A contract that permits the owner, depending on the type of option held, to purchase or sell an asset at a fixed price until a specific date. An option to purchase an asset is a call and an option to sell an asset is a put. Depending on how an investor uses options, the risks can be quite high. Investors in options must be correct on timing as well as on valuation of the underlying asset to be successful. See also Asian option, chooser option, combination option, conventional option, European option, exercise price, exotic option, expiration date, knock-out option, lapsed option, long-term anticipation securities, restricted option, stock option.
- See incentive stock option.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Main Entry: op·tion
Pronunciation: 'äp-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : the power or right to choose; also : a choice made or available
2 : a privilege of demanding fulfillment of a contract on any day within a specified time
3 : a contract conveying in exchange for the payment of a premium a right to buy or sell designated securities, commodities, or interests in property at a specified price during a stipulated period; also : the right conveyed by such a contract
call option
: an option to buy at a fixed price at or within a certain time —compare PUT OPTION in this entry
covered option
: an option in which the optionor owns the security or commodity to be conveyed under the option —compare NAKED OPTION in this entry
futures option
: an option on futures
in·cen·tive stock option
/in-'sen-tiv-/
: a stock option granted by a corporation to its officers and employees as supplementary compensation that is subject to special tax treatment under the Internal Revenue Code
index option
: an option on a stock index
naked option
: an option in which the optionor does not own the security or commodity and will have to purchase it at market price if the optionee decides to exercise the option —compare COVERED OPTION in this entry
put option
: an option to sell for a fixed price at or within a specified time
stock option
: an option giving the optionee the right to purchase a specified number of shares of stock from a corporation at a specified price at or within a specified time —see also INCENTIVE STOCK OPTION in this entry
4 : a right of an insured to choose the form in which various payments due him or her on a policy shall be made or applied
dividend option
: an option allowing the owner of a participating insurance policy and esp. a life insurance policy to determine how dividends are to be paid (as in cash or by being applied as payment for additional insurance)
installments–for–a–fixed–amount option
: a settlement option in which the insurer retains the policy proceeds and makes periodic payments of a fixed amount until the proceeds are exhausted called also fixed amount option
installments–for–a–fixed–pe·ri·od option
: a settlement option in which the policy proceeds are retained by the insurer and paid in installments over a fixed period of time called also fixed period option
interest–only option
: a settlement option in which the insurer retains the policy proceeds and makes interest payments at a guaranteed minimum rate
joint–and–last–survivorship option
: an option in which the insurer makes periodic payments to two or more persons (as a husband and wife) of the proceeds or usually cash value of a policy until the death of the last survivor
life income option
: a settlement option in which the insurer retains the policy proceeds and makes periodic payments for the beneficiary's life or for a specified number of years even after the beneficiary's death with payments to a different recipient
non·for·fei·ture option
/"nän-'for-f&-"chur-/
: an option (as to surrender the policy for its cash value or convert the policy to one with a smaller face amount or to a term policy with a shorter period) available to a policyholder who has ceased paying premiums
settlement option
: an option to receive payments of the proceeds of a life insurance policy other than by lump sum
Main Entry: option
Function: transitive verb
: to grant or take an option on
Cite This Source
option
command line option
Cite This Source
Trade free for 30 days + get $100. $9.99 per trade. Open account now.
TDAMERITRADE.com
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.

