actor — English Dictionary

Noun

1. Someone who institutes a legal suit; a plaintiff or complainant.

   Usage

   • Obsolete

2. Someone acting on behalf of someone else; a guardian.

   Usage

   • Obsolete

3. Someone or something that takes part in some action; a doer, an agent.

   Examples

   More examples (2)

   A man may be principal in an offence in two degrees. A principal, in the first degree, is he that is the actor, or absolute perpetrator of the crime; and, in the second degree, he who is present, aiding, and abetting the fact to be done.

   Never, my dear Bethel, did the most feverish dreams of fiction produce scenes more painful, or more terrific, than the real events to which I have been an actor, since the date of my last letter.

   Mr. Clay had been too prominent an actor in public affairs to allow whig deception and misrepresentation a fair opportunity for successful action.

4. A person who acts a part in a theatrical play or (later) in film or television; a dramatic performer.

   Examples

   Seems like everyone's an actor / Or they're an actor's best friend / I wonder what was wrong to begin with / That they should all have to pretend

   More examples (1)

   Exactly. Marijuana is something we just all gradually decided is okay, like Mark Wahlberg as a serious actor. “You know what? Sure, I’ve decided I’m fine with that.”

   "I'm an actress -- actor, as we have to say these days."

5. An advocate or proctor in civil courts or causes.

   Usage

   • Ancient-Rome
   • Obsolete

6. The subject performing the action of a verb.

7. The entity that performs a role (in use case analysis).

Noun

1. a theatrical performer

   Synonyms

   histrionplayerthespianrole player

   Broader terms

   performerperforming artist

2. a person who acts and gets things done

   Synonyms

   doerworker

   Broader terms

   causal agentcausecausal agency

   Examples

   he's a principal actor in this affair

   when you want something done, get a doer

   More examples (1)

   he's a miracle worker