Simply speaking, there are calls and puts. The seller of a call is paid for agreeing to sell those 100 shares of stock. Puts are just the opposite. They give their owners the right to sell 100 shares of stock at a certain price on a certain date. Sellers of puts are also paid, but in this case they are paid for agreeing to buy those shares.
Options can be extremely speculative or extremely conservative.
You're nervous about the stock market, and you want to make sure you don't suffer a great loss. If for some reason you want to keep the shares, you can also sell the put option for a profit to someone else. But before dealing with options, be absolutely sure you know what you're doing. If you sell a call, for instance, you can be exposed to unlimited losses. By selling the call, you give someone else the right to force you to sell 100 shares of stock at a certain price.