Choice, selection, or Plan B

noun

1. An act of choosing

   "hard to make an option between such alternatives"

2. The power or right to choose freedom of choice

   "He has the option to cancel the deal."

3. A privilege of demanding fulfillment of a contract on any day within a specified time
4. A contract conveying a right to buy or sell designated securities, commodities, or property interest at a specified price during a stipulated period
5. A right of an insured person to choose the form in which payments due on a policy shall be made or applied
6. An alternative course of action

   "didn't have many options open"

7. An item that is offered in addition to or in place of standard equipment

   "A sunroof is one of the options that you can get with the car."

8. An offensive football play in which a back see back may choose whether to pass or run with the ball

verb

1. To grant or take an option on
2. To acquire the exclusive right to use (an author's work) as the basis for a movie

   "the studio optioned the novel for a film"

idiom

1. A right to buy (something) in the future for a specified price

   "The ad is for a condo to rent with an option to buy."

noun

1. The power granted by a legislature to a political subdivision to determine by popular vote the local applicability of a law on a controversial issue (such as the sale of liquor)

noun

1. The option of using nuclear weapons in war

   "… it is now unimaginable that we would use anything approaching the full measure of our military power (the nuclear option aside) in the wars we fight."

2. An extreme option regarded as a drastic step or last resort

   "The EU has most leverage over countries that are desperate to join. Once in the club, with full voting rights, countries can answer back, leaving their peers with only the nuclear option of trying to expel them."

noun

1. An option contract involving stock
2. A right granted by a corporation to officers or employees as a form of compensation that allows purchase of corporate stock at a fixed price usually within a specified period

idiom

1. To force (someone) to do something specified

   "The situation left us no option—we had to move."

noun

1. A right that is given by a company to an employee that lets the employee purchase stock in the company usually for a price that is lower than the normal price

idiom

1. To obtain the right to buy (something) at a particular price

   "The company has taken an option on some land nearby."

verb

1. To choose or elect as a member

   "members co-opted to the committee"

2. To appoint as a colleague or assistant
3. To take into a group (such as a faction, movement, or culture) absorb, assimilate

   "The students are co-opted by a system they serve even in their struggle against it."

4. Take over, appropriate

   "a style co-opted by advertisers"