Limit Order
An order to buy or sell only at a specified price or better. Guarantees price but not execution.
A limit order sets the worst price you are willing to accept. A buy limit will only execute at or below your limit price; a sell limit only at or above it.
If the market never reaches your limit price, the order sits in the order book unfilled. This means you control cost basis but accept the risk of missing the trade entirely.
Limit orders that rest in the book add liquidity and typically qualify for maker rebates on exchanges that charge maker-taker fees.
Example
XYZ is trading at $50.00. You place a buy limit at $49.50. The order sits until the price drops to $49.50 or below, then fills at $49.50 or better.
Related Terms
Buy Limit
A limit order to buy at or below a specified price — placed below the current market to enter on a pullback.
BeginnerGood 'Til Canceled (GTC)
An order that stays active until it fills or you manually cancel it — it does not expire at day end.
BeginnerMaker
A trader whose limit order rests in the order book, adding liquidity and typically earning a fee rebate on maker-taker exchanges.
IntermediateMarket Order
An order to buy or sell immediately at the best available price. Guarantees execution but not the fill price.
BeginnerMarketable Limit Order
A limit order priced at or through the current best opposite quote — it acts like a market order but protects against extreme fills.
IntermediateOdd Lot
Any order for fewer than 100 shares (a round lot). Odd lots are executed differently by some exchanges and historically excluded from certain quotes.
BeginnerOne Cancels the Other (OCO)
A pair of orders where filling one automatically cancels the other — used to set simultaneous upside and downside exits.
BeginnerOrder Types
The instructions that tell a broker how to execute a trade — chiefly market, limit, and stop orders, plus their conditions and time-in-force.
BeginnerPartial Fill
When only part of an order is executed — common with large orders or low-liquidity conditions.
BeginnerPost-Only Order
A limit order that is automatically canceled if it would execute immediately — ensuring it rests in the book and earns maker status.
AdvancedSell Limit
A limit order to sell at or above a specified price — placed above the current market to exit on strength or short into resistance.
BeginnerStop-Limit Order
A two-stage order: a stop price triggers the order, then a limit price caps the worst acceptable fill.
IntermediateTake-Profit Order
A limit order placed above a long entry (or below a short) to automatically lock in gains when a target price is reached.
Beginner