A quick-reference glossary of the options terms you'll see most often. Bookmark it.
Contract basics
- Call (CE) — the right to buy the underlying at the strike.
- Put (PE) — the right to sell the underlying at the strike.
- Strike — the fixed price at which the option can be exercised.
- Premium — the price you pay (or receive) for the option.
- Lot size — the fixed number of units per F&O contract (e.g. NIFTY = 75 currently).
- Expiry — the date the contract settles; weekly or monthly in India.
- ITM / ATM / OTM — in-, at-, or out-of-the-money relative to spot.
- Intrinsic / extrinsic value — real in-the-money value vs the time-and-volatility premium.
The Greeks
- Delta — how much the option moves per ₹1 move in the underlying.
- Gamma — how fast delta itself changes (highest near expiry, ATM).
- Theta — daily time decay; how much value the option loses per day.
- Vega — sensitivity to a 1-point change in implied volatility.
- IV (implied volatility) — the market's expected swing, baked into the premium.
Positioning & margin
- Open interest (OI) — live contracts outstanding; where positions sit. Read more →
- PCR — put-call ratio; a sentiment gauge.
- Max pain — the strike where most option buyers lose; price often drifts there at expiry.
- SPAN & exposure margin — the collateral blocked to hold F&O. Read more →
- MTM — mark-to-market; daily settlement of gains/losses.
Educational reference only — not investment advice. See our guides to put these terms to work.