Spread

A spread is simply a gap, or difference; so the 'spread' between two and five is three.

Updated July 2018

"Spread" is a bit of financial jargon you'll read in several contexts. It simply means the gap between one price and another. So for example, in the equity market you'll often hear about the "bid-offer spread". This is the gap between the price at which you can sell a share and the price at which you can buy it. The spread in this case is in effect another trading cost you have to consider when buying or selling shares.

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