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option

/ˈɑpʃən/
nounverb

OPTION is a six-letter word meaning a choice; it scores 8 Scrabble points and has one anagram, POTION.

NWL Collins ENABLE

Noun 4 meanings

  1. One of a set of choices that can be made.

  2. The freedom or right to choose.

  3. A contract giving the holder the right to buy or sell an asset at a set strike price; can apply to financial market transactions, or to ordinary transactions for tangible assets such as a residence or automobile.

  4. The acquiring or retention of a nationality through personal choice as a right, bypassing selective legal mechanisms for naturalization, especially in cases where a territory is transferred or passed on from one state to another.

Verb 2 meanings

  1. To purchase an option on something.

    “The new novel was optioned by the film studio, but they'll probably never decide to make a movie from it.”

  2. To configure, by setting an option.

Definitions: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA) via Kaikki/Wiktextract

Where it comes from

Etymology

From French option, from Latin optiō (“choice; option; act of choosing”), from optō (“to choose, select”). Equivalent to opt + -ion.

Similar and opposite words

Similar
alternativechoicepossibilitycontingency

In everyday use, an option is one choice from a set, or the freedom to choose. The word also has specific financial and legal senses, so context matters when you meet it outside a game. OPTION’s recorded frequency count is 14,026, and its six letters make a compact mix of common tiles with one higher-value P.

OPTION at a glance

  • OPTION is a six-letter noun for a choice or the freedom to choose.
  • The word scores 8 points in Scrabble before any board bonuses.
  • POTION is the only anagram formed from OPTION’s letters.
  • No words sit one letter away from OPTION by changing a single tile.

What does OPTION mean, and how does it score?

OPTION most often means one of the choices available, as in choosing an option from a menu. It can also mean the right or freedom to choose. In finance, an option is a contract giving its holder the right to buy or sell an asset at a set price.

The Scrabble total is 8: P is worth 3 points, while O, T, I, O, and N are worth 1 point each. That makes P the tile to protect; placing it on a bonus square changes the play’s total, while the other five letters contribute 5 points together.

OPTION appears in the listed sources ENABLE, NWL2023, and Collins. Those names cover different game word lists, so check your game’s dictionary when a challenge depends on which list is in use.

What words are related to OPTION?

POTION is OPTION’s sole anagram: it uses the same letters, including both O tiles, in a different order. The pair is easy to mix up at a glance, but POTION names a drink or mixture, while OPTION names a choice or right.

OPTION ends with the sound “ion” and has 12 listed rhymes. Familiar examples include QUESTION, ACTION, MILLION, and UNION. The spelling endings differ, so listen for the shared final sound rather than expecting every rhyme to end in the same letters.

There are no one-letter neighbors for OPTION in the neighbor check. That makes it a dead end for changing just one tile into another word; an anagram or a larger letter change is needed instead.

Rhymes with option

All rhymes

Questions people ask

What does OPTION mean?
OPTION usually means one choice from a set, or the freedom to choose. In finance, it can mean a contract giving someone the right to buy or sell an asset at a set price. The intended meaning depends on the sentence around it.
How many points is OPTION in Scrabble?
OPTION is worth 8 Scrabble points before board bonuses. Its P contributes 3 points, and its two O tiles, T, I, and N contribute 1 point each. A premium letter or word square can raise the score during play.
What is an anagram of OPTION?
POTION is the only anagram of OPTION in the listed results. It uses the same six letters, including both O tiles, rearranged into a different word. OPTION itself means a choice, while POTION refers to a drink or mixture.

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