option

[op-shuhn]

noun

1. the power or right of choosing.

2. something that may be or is chosen; choice.

   Synonyms: election, selection

3. the act of choosing.

   Synonyms: election, selection

4. an item of equipment or a feature that may be chosen as an addition to or replacement for standard equipment and features.

   a car with a long list of extra-cost options;

   a telephoto lens option for a camera.

5. stock option.

6. a privilege acquired, as by the payment of a premium or consideration, of demanding, within a specified time, the carrying out of a transaction upon stipulated terms; the right, as granted in a contract or by an initial payment, of acquiring something in the future.

   We bought one lot and took a 90-day option on an adjoining one.

7. Football.,  a play in which a back has a choice of either passing or running with the ball.

verb (used with object)

1. to acquire or grant an option on.

   The studio has optioned his latest novel for film adaptation.

2. to provide with optional equipment.

   The car can be fully optioned at additional cost.

option

/ ˈɒpʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of choosing or deciding

2. the power or liberty to choose

3. an exclusive opportunity, usually for a limited period, to buy something at a future date

   he has a six-month option on the Canadian rights to this book

4. commerce the right to buy ( call option ) or sell ( put option ) a fixed quantity of a commodity, security, foreign exchange, etc, at a fixed price at a specified date in the future See also traded option

5. something chosen; choice

6. short for local option

7. not to commit oneself

8. See soft option

verb

1. (tr) to obtain or grant an option on

Other Word Forms

• optionable adjective
• preoption noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of option¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin optiōn-, stem of optiō “choice,” equivalent to op(tāre) “to select” ( opt ) + -tiō -tion

Word History and Origins

Origin of option¹

C17: from Latin optiō free choice, from optāre to choose

Synonym Study

See choice.

Example Sentences

There are other, more nuanced options that could also affect solvency.

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The problem is, when you are facing a behemoth nonmarket economy like China that is mostly only interested in full employment, you don’t have a lot of options to compete.

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I grew up in a world where the cheaper option was always the better option.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Future advances could make these organoids valuable tools for studying brain function -- or, as the researchers jokingly note, a possible "lab-grown lunch option for zombies."

Read more on Science Daily

There are alternatives for your wife and your kids: CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a joint federal and state program for children in low-income families who don’t qualify for Medicaid, is one such option.

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Related Words

• benefit 
• choice 
• opportunity 
• preference 
• privilege 
• right