Börsenlexikon: Limit

In the case of orders to buy or sell securities, the limit is the fixed price that may not be exceeded or fallen short of. If you place a limit order, it must be executed as soon as the limit price is determined on the exchange you have chosen. Limits are generally valid until the last trading day of a month (and must then be renewed if necessary), but can be limited to a single day. You should always set a limit, especially when trading in less liquid, narrow-market securities, i.e. small caps. A special feature among limit orders are the so-called stop-loss orders.