Orders & Execution
Beginner
Pending Order
An order set to trigger when price reaches a specified level in the future — limit and stop orders are pending until they fill.
Definition
Pending orders are price-conditional instructions that wait in the broker’s order book until the trigger condition is met. The four standard types are buy limit, sell limit, buy stop, and sell stop.
Pending orders are how disciplined traders pre-plan entries without watching the screen all day. Combined with attached SL/TP, they let you walk away from a trade idea entirely.
Example
Before bed you place a buy limit at 1.0800, with SL 1.0780 and TP 1.0850. Price dips to 1.0800 overnight, fills the limit, then runs to 1.0850 — you're stopped at TP for +50 pips without being awake.