choice, option, alternative, preference, selection, election mean the act or opportunity of choosing or the thing chosen. choice suggests the opportunity or privilege of choosing freely. option implies a power to choose that is specifically granted or guaranteed.

Understanding the Context

alternative implies a need to choose one and reject another possibility. Options are financial instruments that provide the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a set strike price, offering investors a way to leverage their positions or... An option is something that can be chosen — it's a possibility. Even something crazy — like jumping off a cliff — is always an option, just not a good one.

Key Insights

There are lots of technical uses of option in business and legal writing. If you have the option on a house, you have the right to buy it. Options let you pay for the right to buy or sell a stock or ETF at a specific price within a set timeframe. Because they typically could cost a fraction of what buying an asset outright does, some investors use options as a way to acquire leverage, generate income, or even to help protect assets. An option is a contract giving the investor the right (or option) but not the obligation to buy or sell a specific stock or ETF, at a specified price (also known as the "strike price") for a ...

Final Thoughts

OPTION definition: 1. one thing that can be chosen from a set of possibilities, or the freedom to make a choice: 2…. Learn more. Options on individual stocks and on stock indices are actively traded on exchanges such as the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), which is the largest US options exchange. Options are...