An option whose payoff depends solely on the events specified to take place upon expiration, rather than the path taken by the underlying variable (price, rate, index, etc). A prime example is a European option where the price for the buyer depends exclusively on the terminal price. If an investor buys a call option with a strike price of USD 50, he would benefit if the underlying rises above 50 upon expiration. If not, he would not exercise and the premium paid to buy the option is lost. It is irrelevant which route the underlying price (the sport price of the option’s underlying asset) takes within time to expiration.

This option, opposite of path-dependent option, is also referred to as path-independent option.