• In option trading, “exercise” means to exercise the right to buy or sell the underlying security specified in the option contract.

  • To exercise an option, you simply tell your broker that you want to exercise the option in your contract.
  • If the holder of the put option executesthe contract, he sells the underlying security at the stated price within a certain period of time.
  • If the holder of the call option executesthe contract, he will buy the underlying security at the stated price within a specified period of time.
  • Before exercising an option, it is important to consider what type of option you have and whether you can exercise it.