Pronunciations (6)
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/ækt/
Pronunciation notes
- Australia
- Received-Pronunciation
- US
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[ækt]
Pronunciation notes
- Australia
- Received-Pronunciation
- US
-
/ækt/
Pronunciation notes
- British
- Canada
- Northern-England
- Southern
- Standard
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[akt]
Pronunciation notes
- British
- Canada
- Northern-England
- Southern
- Standard
-
/æk/
Pronunciation notes
- African-American-Vernacular-English
-
ækt
Noun
Something done, a deed.
Usage- Countable
- Examples
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an act of goodwill
That best portion of a good man's life, / His little, nameless, unremembered acts / Of kindness and of love.
Actuality.
Usage- Obsolete
- Uncountable
- Examples
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The seeds of plants are not at first in act, but in possibility, what they afterward grow to be.
Something done once and for all, as distinguished from a work.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
A product of a legislative body, a statute.
Usage- Countable
- Examples
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More examples (1)
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 life at sea.
(In the United States) A legislative proposal, a bill that has not yet become law.
Usage- Countable
- Examples
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More examples (1)
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.
The process of doing something.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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He was caught in the act of stealing.
A formal or official record of something done.
Usage- Countable
A division of a theatrical performance.
Usage- Countable
- Examples
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More examples (1)
“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 enough. It was last Saturday […] that two boys, playing in the little spinney just outside Wembley Park Station, came across three large parcels done up in American cloth. […]”
The pivotal moment in the play was in the first scene of the second act.
A performer or performers in a show.
Usage- Countable
- Examples
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Which act did you prefer? The soloist or the band?
Any organized activity.
Usage- Countable
- Examples
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The minute you let it be known you're planning a sales campaign everybody wants to get into the act.
A display of behaviour.
Usage- Countable
A display of behaviour. A display of behaviour meant to deceive.
Usage- Countable
- Examples
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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"
A thesis maintained in public, in some English universities, by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
A regulation (see Usage notes).
Usage- European-Union
- Countable
- Uncountable
Verb
To do something.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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If you don’t act soon, you will be in trouble.
To do (something); to perform.
Usage- Obsolete
- Transitive
- Examples
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that we act our temporal affairs with a deſire no greater than our neceſſity
Industry doth beget by producing good habits, and facility of acting things expedient for us to do.
More examples (1)
Uplifted hands that at convenient times / Could act extortion and the worst of crimes.
To perform a theatrical role.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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I started acting at the age of eleven in my local theatre.
Of a play: to be acted out (well or badly).
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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More examples (1)
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.
To behave in a certain manner for an indefinite length of time.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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A dog which acts aggressively is likely to bite.
I believe that Bill’s stuck-up because of the way that he acts.
More examples (1)
He’s acting strangely—I think there’s something wrong with him.
To convey an appearance of being.
Usage- copulative
- Examples
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He acted unconcerned so the others wouldn’t worry.
To do something that causes a change binding on the doer.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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act on behalf of John
To have an effect (on).
Usage- Intransitive
- construed with on or upon
- Examples
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High-pressure oxygen acts on the central nervous system and may cause convulsions or death.
Gravitational force acts on heavy bodies.
To play (a role).
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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He’s been acting Shakespearean leads since he was twelve.
To feign.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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He acted the angry parent, but was secretly amused.
With acted fear the villain thus pursued.
To carry out work as a legal representative in relation to a particular legal matter.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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A lawyer cannot act until they have been formally instructed by their client.
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.
Usage- Intransitive
- construed with on or upon
- of an algebraic structure
- Examples
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This group acts on the circle, so it can't be left-orderable!
To move to action; to actuate; to animate.
Usage- Obsolete
- Transitive
- Examples
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Self-love, the spring of motion, acts the soul.
To enact; to decree.
Usage- Scotland
- Obsolete
- Transitive
Noun
a legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body
- Synonyms
something that people do or cause to happen
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
a subdivision of a play or opera or ballet
- Broader terms
a short performance that is part of a longer program
- Broader terms
- Examples
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he did his act three times every evening
she had a catchy little routine
More examples (1)
it was one of the best numbers he ever did
a manifestation of insincerity
- Broader terms
- Examples
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he put on quite an act for her benefit
Verb
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
- Synonyms
- Antonyms
- Examples
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think before you act
We must move quickly
More examples (2)
The governor should act on the new energy bill
The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel
behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself
- Broader terms
- Examples
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You should act like an adult
Don't behave like a fool
More examples (2)
What makes her do this way?
The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people
play a role or part
- Examples
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Gielgud played Hamlet
She wants to act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role
More examples (1)
She played the servant to her husband's master
discharge one's duties
- Broader terms
- Examples
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She acts as the chair
In what capacity are you acting?
pretend to have certain qualities or state of mind
- Examples
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He acted the idiot
She plays deaf when the news are bad
be suitable for theatrical performance
- Examples
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This scene acts well
have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected
- Synonyms
- Examples
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The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought
How does your idea work in practice?
More examples (3)
This method doesn't work
The breaks of my new car act quickly
The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water
behave unnaturally or affectedly
- Examples
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She's just acting
perform on a stage or theater
- Broader terms
- Examples
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She acts in this play
He acted in ‘Julius Caesar’
More examples (1)
I played in ‘A Christmas Carol’