← Glossary

Limit order

Also called: resting order

An order that names your own price instead of taking whatever the market is at right now.

In practice

A market order fills immediately at the current price. A limit order waits: you say what you'll pay, and it fills only if the market reaches it. Naming your own price is the difference between deciding and accepting.

What it is not

Not a guarantee. If the price never reaches your level the order simply doesn't fill — and even when it does touch briefly, an order can be missed. That is true of real limit orders too, not just ours.

Full article: What trading actually costs