A pending order is any order set to execute automatically once the market reaches a specified price, rather than immediately at the current price — this includes limit orders, stop orders, and their variants. Pending orders let a trader plan an entry or exit in advance without needing to watch the market continuously.
Most platforms let you attach a stop-loss and take-profit directly to a pending order, so the entire trade plan is set up before the position ever opens.
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Guide
Order Types and Slippage Explained
Market, limit and stop orders trade price certainty against execution certainty — plus what slippage is, where it comes from, and what a stop-loss caps.