stock option

noun

1
: an option contract involving stock
2
: a right granted by a corporation to officers or employees as a form of compensation that allows purchase of corporate stock at a fixed price usually within a specified period

Examples of stock option in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The company has $477 million in total debt, $42 million in outstanding employee stock options, and just $226 million excess cash. David Trainer, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025 Yet even adjusted for age, millennials and Gen Zers like to live further out on the risk curve, with meme stocks, stock options, cryptocurrencies and other more speculative asset classes. Robert Frank, CNBC, 5 June 2025 An example of the latter includes receiving restricted stock units (RSUs) or exercising incentive stock options (ISOs). Malana Vantyler, USA Today, 20 May 2025 Her compensation has consisted largely of stock options, some granted as early as 2014. Catherine Baab, Quartz, 13 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for stock option

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of stock option was in 1877

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Cite this Entry

“Stock option.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stock%20option. Accessed 20 Jun. 2025.

Legal Definition

stock option

see option sense 3

More from Merriam-Webster on stock option

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