Many beginners do not get stuck because prediction markets are too advanced. They get stuck because too many key words arrive too quickly. If you do not know what a contract, resolution source, implied probability, or liquidity really means, it becomes harder to read any market with confidence. This page is a practical support guide to the terms beginners actually need first.
This is not the first step in the site’s basics ladder. It is a support page you can open whenever a term in the basics or platform path feels vague. If you need the full sequence, go back to Guides.
1. Contract
A contract is the actual market question being traded. Beginners should not treat it like a headline only. The contract wording defines what outcome counts, what does not count, and what the market is really asking.
2. Resolution criteria
Resolution criteria explain how the market will be settled. This is one of the most important beginner terms because a market can look simple until you inspect what source, date, or interpretation rule decides the final answer.
3. Price
The market price is the current traded number attached to an outcome. Beginners often read it too literally. A price is useful, but it is not a magic truth signal by itself. It reflects the market’s current state, not a guaranteed future.
4. Implied probability
Implied probability is the rough probability reading people often take from the price. It is one of the first terms beginners should understand because much of prediction-market reading becomes easier once you know that the price is often being used as a probability-style estimate.
5. Liquidity
Liquidity is about how easily the market can absorb buying and selling without the price moving too wildly. High liquidity does not make a market automatically correct, but it often makes the signal easier to interpret. Low liquidity can make a market look more confident than it really is.
6. Market depth
Market depth is closely related to liquidity. It refers to how much buying and selling interest exists around nearby price levels. Beginners do not need to master every detail immediately, but understanding depth helps explain why some prices move smoothly while others jump.
7. Volume
Volume tells you how much activity has happened. It can be useful as a context clue, but volume alone does not prove that a market is easy to trust. It works best when read together with liquidity, contract clarity, and price movement.
8. Volatility
Volatility is how quickly and how far prices move. Beginners often mistake volatility for certainty or importance. In practice, fast movement can mean fresh information, noise, attention spikes, or a thinner market reacting sharply.
9. Settlement source
The settlement source is the source the platform uses to decide the final outcome. This matters because a market can seem obvious until the official resolution source turns out to be narrower or more technical than you expected.
10. Spread
The spread is the gap between what buyers are willing to pay and what sellers are willing to accept. Beginners do not need to obsess over it on day one, but it helps explain why some platforms feel smoother and more beginner-friendly than others.
How to use this page well
- Open it when a basics article uses a term that feels slippery.
- Use it alongside How to Read Prediction Market Prices and Probabilities as a Beginner.
- Use it with What Prediction Market Resolution Criteria Mean if resolution wording is the part that keeps tripping you up.
What to read next
- Start or return to Guides if you want the six-step basics ladder.
- Read How to Read Prediction Market Prices and Probabilities as a Beginner if price language is still the main problem.
- Read What Prediction Market Resolution Criteria Mean if contract wording and settlement rules are the main source of confusion.
- Read What Prediction Market Spread Means if you want the spread-specific support layer after liquidity and price basics.
- Open Articles if you want the whole reading library instead of a single support page.