act

Something done, a deed.

Adverb

  1. Clipping of actually.
    • james did u act enjoy that juice? looked like u were gagging icl

Origin

Clipping of actually.

Forms

more act most act

Noun

  1. Something done, a deed.
    • an act of goodwill
    • That best portion of a good man's life, / His little, nameless, unremembered acts / Of kindness and of love. - 1798, William Wordsworth, Lines:
  2. Actuality.
    • The seeds of plants are not at first in act, but in possibility, what they afterward grow to be. - [1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn...
  3. Something done once and for all, as distinguished from a work.
  4. A product of a legislative body, a statute.
    • But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their...
  5. A legislative proposal, a bill that has not yet become law.
    • Under current law, employers can drag out the union election process... Under the PRO Act, workers and the NLRB set union election procedures. The employer is not involved. - 2021 February 4, Celine McNicholas, Margaret...
  6. The process of doing something.
    • He was caught in the act of stealing.
  7. A formal or official record of something done.
  8. A division of a theatrical performance.
    • “H'm !” he said, “so, so—it is a tragedy in a prologue and three acts. I am going down this afternoon to see the curtain fall for the third time on what […] will prove a good burlesque ; but it all began dramatically...
    • The pivotal moment in the play was in the first scene of the second act.
  9. A performer or performers in a show.
    • Which act did you prefer? The soloist or the band?
  10. Any organized activity.
    • The minute you let it be known you're planning a sales campaign everybody wants to get into the act. - 1934, Babette Hughes, One egg: a farce in one act, page 46:
  11. A display of behaviour.

    1. (countable) A display of behaviour meant to deceive.

      • to put on an act
      • He said, "I'm just curious, is this for real or just an act? / Can't tell if you love or hate me, never met someone like that" - 2023 September 15, Tate McRae, Amy Allen, Jasper Harris, Ryan Tedder, “Greedy”, in Think...
  12. A thesis maintained in public, in some English universities, by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student.

Origin

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti Proto-Italic *agō Latin agō Latin ācta Old French actbor. Middle English acte English act From Middle English acte, from Old French acte, from Latin ācta (“register of events”), plural of āctum (“decree, law”), from agere (“to do, to act”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti. Compare German Akte (“file”). Partially displaced deed, from Old English dǣd (“act, deed”).

Forms

acts

Synonyms

deed statute pretense

Related

action active agency agent

Derived

acteme acter actless act of adjournal act of attainder act of Congress act of darkness act of faith act of god act of God act of independent significance act of parliament act of sederunt act of settlement act of terrorism act of war Acts of the Apostles anteact Baker Act balancing act caught in the act class act clean up one's act coact

Verb

  1. To do something.
    • If you don’t act soon, you will be in trouble.
  2. To do (something); to perform.
    • that we act our temporal affairs with a deſire no greater than our neceſſity - 1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, “Signes of Purity of Intention”, in The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe...
    • Industry doth beget by producing good habits, and facility of acting things expedient for us to do. - a. 1678 (date written), Isaac Barrow, “(please specify the chapter name or sermon number)”, in The Works of Dr. Isaac...
    • Uplifted hands that at convenient times / Could act extortion and the worst of crimes. - 1782, William Cowper, Expostulation:
  3. To perform a theatrical role.
    • I started acting at the age of eleven in my local theatre.
  4. Of a play: to be acted out (well or badly).
    • But whatever types he assumes, the need to have a good play which acts delightfully well before the audience, and to their delectation, is the dominant thrust. If the play acts well, the director gets the credits. -...
  5. To behave in a certain manner for an indefinite length of time.
    • A dog which acts aggressively is likely to bite.
    • I believe that Bill’s stuck-up because of the way that he acts.
    • He’s acting strangely—I think there’s something wrong with him.
  6. To convey an appearance of being.
    • He acted unconcerned so the others wouldn’t worry.
  7. To do something that causes a change binding on the doer.
    • act on behalf of John
  8. To have an effect (on).
    • High-pressure oxygen acts on the central nervous system and may cause convulsions or death.
    • Gravitational force acts on heavy bodies.
  9. To play (a role).
    • He’s been acting Shakespearean leads since he was twelve.
  10. To feign.
    • He acted the angry parent, but was secretly amused.
    • With acted fear the villain thus pursued. - 1697, Virgil, “The Second Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […],...
  11. To carry out work as a legal representative in relation to a particular legal matter.
    • A lawyer cannot act until they have been formally instructed by their client.
  12. To possess an action onto (some other structure). Examples include the group action of a group on a set, the action of a ring on a module by scalar multiplication, and the action of a group or algebra on a vector space via a representation.
    • This group acts on the circle, so it can't be left-orderable!

Forms

acts acting acted no-table-tags glossary act actest actedst acteth -

Related

action activate active deactivate

Derived

actability actable act a fool act against act chicken act like a bull in a china shop act on act one's age actor act out act possum actress act smart act the fool act the giddy goat act the goat act the hypocrite act the jennet act the maggot act up act upon autoreact backreact co-act