Sweep
Definition · Level 6 · Desk language
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An aggressive order split across many exchanges or price levels at once to take all available offers (or bids) — a sign of urgency.
Example
8,000 calls bought at the offer across six exchanges in one second.
Where Tradecraft teaches it
Level 6 · Desk language, in the lesson “Market microstructure”: Who is on the other side of your trade, where it happens and how it shows up on the tape.
Related terms
- Adverse selectionThe risk that whoever trades with you knows more than you do, so the trades you get are the ones that hurt; the tell is repeated one-way flow.
- Block tradeA single very large transaction — far bigger than normal screen size — usually negotiated privately and executed off the order book, often at a…
- Closing auctionEnd-of-day single-price cross on the listing exchange that sets the official closing price; index funds and market-on-close orders concentrate there.
- Dark poolTrading venue with no pre-trade displayed quotes; orders match invisibly, often at the NBBO midpoint, and trades are reported to the tape afterwards.
- Iceberg orderA large order that displays only a small visible slice; each time that slice fills, a fresh one appears from the hidden reserve.
- Maker-takerExchange pricing that pays a rebate to orders adding resting liquidity and charges a fee to orders removing it.