active

Less common meanings

9. 9
   noungrammar

   The voice of a verb in which the grammatical subject is the one carrying out the action, as in 'The committee approved the plan.'

   Most style guides advise using the active wherever the doer of the action is known.

   Put back into the active, the clause reads 'the inspectors found the fault.'

   UsageUsually in the active, set against the passive: put a clause back into the active.

   Oppositepassive

   Note

   The term names voice, not transitivity. 'The train arrived' has no object, yet it is in the active. Older grammars blurred the two and used the word to mean transitive (the older "transitive" use); the noun keeps only the sense of voice.

10. 10
    grammar voiceadjective

    Describing a verb, clause or sentence whose grammatical subject performs the action, rather than one in the passive.

    The editor rewrote the report in the active voice to make it more direct.

    Most style guides prefer active constructions to passive ones.

    UsageMostly in the active voice and active sentences, set against passive ones.

    Oppositepassive

    Note

    A grammarian's term that most readers meet through style advice: the active voice. In it the subject usually does the acting (the editor rewrote the report); in the passive the subject undergoes it (the report was rewritten). Both are forms of the same verb, so active here describes a construction, not a kind of verb. That is what separates it from the older "transitive" label. Source

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The subject typically performs the action, but this is not necessary: active clauses can express states or have an affected subject. hf.uio.no
    • Active and passive can be constructions of the same verb. learnenglish.britishcouncil.org
    • Active formerly served as a transitive label. dev.gutenberg.org
11. 11
    current membernouncountable

    A current, participating member of a group, especially a college fraternity or sorority, as distinct from its alumni or new pledges.

    Every active in the chapter must attend the Monday meeting, while alumni are simply welcome.

    The fraternity's actives met with alumni to plan the spring reunion.

    UsageMostly plural, actives, set against alumni and new pledges.

    Similarparticipant

    Note

    Fraternity life gives the noun its clearest use: actives are the current, participating members, as opposed to alumni. The Alcalde in 1989 reports surveys of "fraternity actives" and what they wrongly assume alumni want.

12. 12
    signal gainadjective

    Of a circuit component, able to supply power to a circuit or to amplify a signal, unlike a passive component.

    Because it contains an amplifier, an active filter can boost a weak signal while it removes unwanted noise.

    Op-amps and transistors are active devices, unlike resistors.

    Oppositepassive

    Note

    Electronics draws the line by energy. Transistors and operational amplifiers can feed power into a circuit or boost a signal. Resistors, capacitors and inductors can only resist, store or pass energy along. Hence the active filter, the active device, and the plain active-versus-passive split on a parts list. The noun an active grows straight out of this adjective. Source

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • The distinction between active and passive electronics concerns supplying energy or providing amplification. en.wikipedia.org
    • Transistors and operational amplifiers are active components capable of amplifying signals. pages.hmc.edu
    • Resistors, capacitors and inductors are passive components that dissipate, store or release energy. renesas.com
    • Active filters use active components and can provide gain. analog.com
13. 13
    nouncountable

    A circuit component that is not passive: one able to supply energy or provide gain, such as a transistor or amplifier.

    The design replaced two passives with a single active to cut the part count.

    Each active on the board draws current from the supply rail.

    Oppositepassive

    Note

    Engineers turn the adjective into a countable noun and pair it with passives. David Manners's Hitchhikers' Guide to Electronics in the '90s (1990) splits components into "actives and passives" and names the vacuum tube and the transistor as actives. The plural carries most of the weight. It works as compact shorthand on a parts list or in a design discussion, where an active simply means one such component. Source

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • David Manners wrote Hitchhikers' Guide to Electronics in the '90s, first published in 1990. unibo.it
    • Manners uses the exact phrase "actives and passives" and identifies vacuum tubes and transistors as active components. en.wiktionary.org
14. 14
    sex roleadjective

    Of a gay man, preferring the penetrating role in anal sex rather than the receptive one.

    In his profile he listed himself as active, looking for a receptive partner.

    The two men talked about whether each preferred to be active or passive.

    Similartop

    Oppositebottom, passive

    Note

    Gay sexual slang borrows the pairing at the heart of the root "acting" sense: the active partner penetrates, and the passive one is penetrated. Top and bottom say the same thing. Because the word is so ordinary elsewhere, context carries the meaning. On a gay dating profile it is usually clear, but in other settings it can be misread, so use it only where the sexual sense is plainly in play.

15. 15
    adjective

    Designating any verb that expresses action, as distinct from mere existence or a state of being.

    Writing coaches favor active verbs like 'sprint' over static ones like 'remain'.

    An active verb conveys something happening rather than a condition that simply holds.

    UsageNot the same as the active voice: a passive sentence can still use an active verb.

    Similardynamic

    Oppositestative

    Note

    The widest of the grammatical uses sorts verbs by meaning. Sprint, build and write are active, while be, seem and remain describe existence or a state. Linguists now usually frame this as dynamic versus stative. Writing coaches mean roughly this when they urge "active verbs."

16. 16
    adjective

    Designating a verb whose subject acts upon or affects something else; a transitive verb.
17. 17
    adjective

    Designating code or input that is eligible to be processed by a compiler or interpreter.