Look-alikes

Family XI · 40 entries

This family holds the pairs of terms that readers arrive at already confused, where the question is not what a single word means but which of two near-neighbours applies. Each entry sets the two side by side on the points that actually separate them — what each one measures, when each one is used, and the visible sign that tells you which you are looking at. The pairs are drawn from the rest of the guide, so every comparison links back to the full entry for each term. Start with bid vs ask and balance vs equity if you are new: both pairs appear on every trading screen, and reading one of them as the other misstates what an account is worth.

The most common mistake is assuming that because two terms are compared they must be alternatives to choose between, when most of these pairs describe different things that coexist — an account has a balance and an equity at the same time, and a quote carries a bid and an ask at once.

Other families: I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XII · Index A–Z