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Investing & the Stock Market vocabulary · Orders & Trading

Limit order

Meaning in investing & the stock market, with examples

/ˈlɪmɪt ˌɔːrdər/nounCore term

In investing & the stock market, limit order means: An instruction to buy at or below a chosen price, or to sell at or above a chosen price. The order is only executed if the market reaches that price.

In Turkish: limit emir, limitli emir, fiyatlı emir

How it is used

Used when price control matters more than speed. You set a limit price; the order waits in the order book until it is filled, partly filled, cancelled or expires. Many platforms let you choose how long it stays active, for example for the day only.

Example sentences

  1. I put in a limit order to buy at 95 lira, but the price never came down that far.

  2. Only half of my limit order was filled before the market closed.

Common collocations

  • place a limit order
  • limit price
  • buy limit order
  • sell limit order
  • cancel a limit order
  • market orderAn instruction to buy or sell a security immediately at the best price currently available, without setting a price limit.
  • stop-loss orderAn order that automatically sells a security if its price falls to a chosen level, used to limit how much an investor can lose on a position.
  • bid-ask spreadThe difference between the highest price a buyer is offering (the bid) and the lowest price a seller will accept (the ask) for a security at a given moment.
  • trading volumeThe number of shares or contracts traded, or their total value, during a given period such as one day.

More terms: Orders & Trading

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.