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A put or call that can be exercised at any time prior to expiration. Most listed stock options, including those on European exchanges, are American-style options. Important exceptions are certain low strike price options and/or options on shares with restricted transferability. Most listed options on other instruments are also American-style options, but a number of European-style options have been introduced in recent years, particularly on stock indexes and currencies. The labels, European and American, come from a 1965 warrant article by Nobel Laureate Paul Samuelson. See also Modified American Option, European Option, Japanese Option, Bermuda Option, Quasi-American Option, Deferred Payment American Option.
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