An instruction, clear and plain:buy or sell, at a price you name.
An instruction to a broker to buy or sell a financial instrument at a specific price or at the current market price.
Common order types include market, limit, stop, and trailing stop orders.
In plain words
An order is an instruction given to a broker to buy or sell a stated amount of an instrument. It says what to trade, how much, in which direction and on what terms: at once at the current price, or later if the price reaches a chosen level.
See it move
Order and Market
Why it matters
Every trade begins and ends with an order, and the type chosen decides what is fixed and what is left open. A market order fixes the timing and leaves the price open; a limit order fixes the price and leaves open whether it is filled.
Worked example
An example only. The figures are round and invented for the arithmetic: they are not market prices.
A pair trades at 1.1000 and a trader considers three instructions to buy.
- 1Market orderfilled now, at about 1.1000
- 2Buy limit at 1.0950waits, and fills only if the price falls to 1.0950
- 3Buy stop at 1.1050waits, and becomes a market order if the price rises to 1.1050
The same intention, to buy, leads to three different outcomes depending on the type of order.
A common mistake
Placing an order is not the same as making a trade. An order is a request: it becomes a position only when it is executed, and a waiting order can expire or be cancelled without ever trading.
Check yourself
Educational information, not investment advice or a recommendation to trade.