A transaction in which the trader simultaneously purchases, or takes a long position in, a contract on a specific asset for some maturity month and sells, or takes a short position, in another contract on the same asset for another maturity month. For example, a spread transaction may involve the purchase of one futures contract against the sale of another futures contract with a farther dated contract month.

Examples of spreads in the context of options include Atlantic spread, strike spread, time spread, etc.

The spread is also known as a spread transaction.