★ My

Encyclopedia › Order types ›

Stop order

In one line: An order that becomes a market order once a set price is reached.

You pick a stop price. When the market trades there, your order wakes up and becomes a market orderBuy or sell now at the best available price..

The SECThe US stock market regulator. warns that in a fast-moving market the fill can be far from the stop price. A stop is a trigger, not a guarantee. Overnight Gaps can make this worse.

Related

Sources & studies

  1. Investor.gov (SEC): Stop order
  2. Investor.gov (SEC): Investor Bulletin – stop, stop-limit and trailing stop orders

Order typesStop-lossStop-limit order

Last checked: 2026-11-04 · Educational, not financial advice.

Education only, not financial advice. No signals. Backtests are hypothetical: real trading can be worse. Past results don't predict future results.