Options

Options Chain

The full table of an option’s available strikes, expirations, and prices.

An options chain is the menu. It lists every strike and expiration for a stock, with the bid, ask, last price, volume, open interest, and often the Greeks and implied volatility for each. Reading a chain is how you pick a strike and see what premium it actually pays right now.

For example

On the chain you find the 35-day $20 put showing a $0.55 bid and a $0.65 ask, so you might sell it for around $0.60.

Related terms

Open InterestImplied Volatility (IV)Strike Price

Back to the full glossary · Educational content only, not investment advice.