# act

Pronunciation: say "AKT" /ækt/

## Noun

1. Something a person does; a single deed or action, including one seen while it is happening.
   - Simple: Something a person does, including something they are in the middle of doing.
   - _Returning the wallet was an act of honesty._
   - _Historians still debate whether the bombing was an act of war or an act of desperation._
2. A law passed by a legislature; in the US also a bill proposed under that name.
   - Simple: A law made by a parliament or congress, or a proposed law with that name.
   - _The act established a national park along the river._
   - _Lawmakers amended the act twice before it finally took effect._
7. A performer or group appearing in a show, or the routine they perform.
   - Simple: A person or group who performs in a show, or the thing they perform.
   - _The opening act warmed up the crowd for nearly an hour._
   - _By the late nineties, the band had become the biggest touring act in the country._
11. A way of behaving put on for show, often to deceive, as in it's all an act.
   - Simple: Behavior that is put on to make people believe something that is not true.
   - _Her enthusiasm for the merger was an act; she'd already accepted a job elsewhere._
   - _The limp turned out to be an act designed to win the jury's sympathy._
9. A major division of a play, opera, film or other dramatic work.
   - Simple: One of the main parts of a play, film or show.
   - _The villain isn't revealed until the final act._
   - _Shakespeare's plays are traditionally divided into five acts._
15. A formal or official record of a thing done or decided, drawn up and kept as evidence.
   - Simple: An official paper that records something that was done or decided.
   - _The notary prepared an act certifying the transfer of the property._
   - _Historians consulted the acts of the council to establish what had been decided._

## Verb

3. Followed by as: to serve in a particular role, post, or function, sometimes taking the place of someone else.
   - Simple: To do a certain job or serve a certain purpose, sometimes in place of someone else.
   - _The deputy mayor will act as mayor until the special election._
   - _The sofa in the den acts as a spare bed when guests stay over._
4. To perform a role in a play, film or other show, or to play a particular character.
   - Simple: To play a part in a play, film or show.
   - _After college she moved to New York to act on stage._
   - _He has acted professionally since he was eleven._
5. To behave in a particular manner, especially over a period of time.
   - Simple: To behave in a certain way for a while.
   - _He's been acting strangely ever since the accident._
   - _New employees often act cautiously until they learn the office culture._
6. To do something; to take action, or carry something out.
   - Simple: To do something, especially to deal with a problem.
   - _Regulators must act before the practice spreads further._
   - _The school board acted within a week of receiving the complaint._
8. To have an effect on something; to exert influence.
   - Simple: To have an effect on something or someone.
   - _Enzymes act on starches, breaking them into simpler sugars._
   - _The sleeping pill acted within twenty minutes._
10. To pretend to be or feel something; to put on an appearance of a quality, as in act surprised.
   - Simple: To pretend to feel something or to be a certain way when you are not.
   - _She acted indifferent, though the criticism stung._
   - _Diplomats sometimes act enthusiastic about proposals they intend to bury._
12. Of a play: to come across well or badly in performance.
   - Simple: To go well or badly when performed on stage, used about a play.
   - _Critics agreed the comedy acted far better than its thin plot suggested._
   - _Plays heavy with monologue rarely act well before a restless audience._
13. To do something in response to, or in line with, a piece of advice or information, a belief, or a feeling; used with on or upon.
   - Simple: To let advice, information, a belief, or a feeling lead you to do something.
   - _Investors who act on rumors tend to lose money._
   - _Police acted upon an anonymous tip and searched the warehouse._
14. To carry out work as someone's legal representative in a particular legal matter.
   - Simple: To do legal work for someone in a case or legal matter, as their lawyer.
   - _The firm declined to act in the merger because of a conflict of interest._
   - _He has acted for the publisher in every libel dispute since 2010._

## Verb

16. To enact or decree (a law, order, or measure). *(obsolete, Scotland)*
   - Simple: To make something into a law or an official order.
17. To move a person or thing to action; to actuate or animate. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make someone or something move or do things.

## Noun

18. Actuality; the state of being real and realized, as opposed to merely potential. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The state of really existing now, not just being possible.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To do something that brings about a change that is binding on the person who does it.
- (noun) Something done once and for all, as distinct from a work, which is ongoing.
- (adverb) Short for actually: in fact or really, used in casual texting and online writing for emphasis or surprise.
- (verb) To possess an action on another structure, as a group does on a set or a ring does on a module by scalar multiplication.
- (noun) A thesis publicly maintained at certain English universities by a candidate for a degree, or to demonstrate a student's proficiency.

## Origin

Latin agere ("to do, to act"), which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti, gave āctum ("decree, law"), whose plural ācta meant "register of events." This passed through Old French acte into Middle English acte. The word partly replaced the older deed, from Old English dǣd.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/act (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).