option

The word “option” means one of the choices available to someone in a given situation. In plain terms, a choice available to you — or, in finance, a contract that lets you choose to buy/sell later at a set price.

“Option” is pronounced OP-shuhn (/ˈɑpʃən/ in IPA).

Here is “option” used in a sentence: “We're still weighing our options before signing the lease.”

Words with a similar meaning to “option” include alternative, choice, possibility and contingency.

“Option” is a noun.

The word “option” comes from Latin. From French option, from Latin optio, "choice," from optare, "to choose.".

“Option” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Option” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: one of the choices available to someone in a given situation.

An option is one of the possibilities available to you, while a choice is the act of selecting one, or the option you actually pick. You weigh up your options, then make a choice. Put simply, options are what you can choose from; a choice is the decision itself.

An option is any available possibility. An alternative is specifically a different option offered in place of another, often as a substitute or backup. Every alternative is an option, but not every option is framed as an alternative. Alternative implies contrast with something already proposed or preferred.

On a menu, each dish is an option; on a form, each box you can tick is an option. When deciding how to travel, driving, taking the train, and flying are all options. In each case, an option is simply one of the paths open to you in that situation.

The opposite is having no choice, or being forced into a single course of action. Words like necessity, obligation, or constraint capture this. Where options mean freedom to select among possibilities, their absence means the outcome is fixed and you cannot pick differently, however you might prefer to.