RE:Stupid question No stupid question! A short is when you bet a stock will go down. You sell and then buy instead of the other way around. People who are investing are called "Bullish" from the word bull. The buy low and then sell high. When you short a stock you are considered "bearish" from the word bear. You sell high and then buy low. But how can you sell shares that you dont own? Think abiut buying an appliance. You go to the store and want to buy a fridge. The fridge might not be in Stock. So you pay for it (the business is selling you a fridge they dont have) and when it gets to their ware house the give it to you completing the transaction. Hopefully that helps BigDaddy