v.
- take action; do something.
▸
(act up)
informal behave badly.
-
(act for/on behalf of)
represent on a contractual or legal basis.
▸
[as adj. acting]
temporarily doing the duties of another.
- take effect or have a particular effect.
- perform a fictional role in a play or film.
▸behave so as to appear to be:
I acted dumb.
▸
(act something out)
perform a narrative as if it were a play.
n.
- a thing done.
- a simulation or pretence.
▸a particular type of behaviour or routine:
he did his Sir Galahad act.
- Law a written ordinance of Parliament, Congress, etc.
- dated a record of the decisions or proceedings of a committee or an academic body.
- a main division of a play, ballet, or opera.
- a set performance:
her one-woman poetry act.
Phrase
- act of God
an instance of uncontrollable natural forces in operation. - act of grace
a privilege or concession that cannot be claimed as a right. - get
(or be)
in on the act
informal become (or be) involved in a particular activity, in order to gain an advantage.
Derivative
- actability n.
- actable adj.
- acting n.
Etymology
ME: from L. actus ‘event, thing done’, from act-, agere ‘do, act’, reinforced by Fr. acte.