Partial Fill

A partial fill occurs when an order is only partially executed because there is not enough volume available at the specified price to fill the entire order quantity at once. The remaining portion of the order stays in the order book until it can be matched with new incoming orders or is cancelled by the trader.

In fast-moving markets, partial fills are common, especially with large orders. For some traders, partial fills can be disruptive to their strategy, leading them to use all-or-none or fill-or-kill order types to avoid them.

For others, it simply means they have entered a portion of their intended position and need to decide whether to wait for the rest to fill or adjust their strategy.