act

name

1. (abbreviation, alt-of, initialism)Initialism of the Australian Capital Territory: a federal territory of Australia.

   “Osteoporosis Australia is calling for the 'no hat, no play' policy in school playgrounds to be reassessed in the ACT and Tasmania, because children are not getting enough sunlight.”

2. (abbreviation, alt-of, initialism)Initialism of American College Test.
3. (abbreviation, alt-of, initialism)Initialism of Association of Consumers and Taxpayers, a political party of New Zealand.
4. (New-Zealand)Initialism of Association of Consumers and Taxpayers, a political party of New Zealand.

noun

1. (countable)An instance of a certain standardized college admissions test in the United States, originally called the American College Test.
2. (abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable)Acronym of acceptance and commitment therapy.
3. (countable)Something done, a deed.

   “an act of goodwill”

   “That best portion of a good man's life, / His little, nameless, unremembered acts / Of kindness and of love.”

4. (obsolete, uncountable)Actuality.

   “The seeds of plants are not at first in act, but in possibility, what they afterward grow to be.”

5. (countable, uncountable)Something done once and for all, as distinguished from a work.
6. (countable)A product of a legislative body, a statute.

   “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.”

7. (countable)(In the United States) A legislative proposal, a bill that has not yet become law.

   “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.”

8. (countable, uncountable)The process of doing something.

   “He was caught in the act of stealing.”

9. (countable)A formal or official record of something done.
10. (countable)A division of a theatrical performance.

    ““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.”

11. (countable)A performer or performers in a show.

    “Which act did you prefer? The soloist or the band?”

12. (countable)Any organized activity.

    “The minute you let it be known you're planning a sales campaign everybody wants to get into the act.”

13. (countable)A display of behaviour.
14. (countable)A display of behaviour.

    “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"”

15. (countable, uncountable)A thesis maintained in public, in some English universities, by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student.
16. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable)Ellipsis of act of parliament.
17. (European-Union, countable, uncountable)a regulation (see Usage notes)
18. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of Act of Parliament.

verb

1. (intransitive)To do something.

   “If you don’t act soon, you will be in trouble.”

2. (obsolete, transitive)To do (something); to perform.

   “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.”

   “Uplifted hands that at convenient times / Could act extortion and the worst of crimes.”

3. (intransitive)To perform a theatrical role.

   “I started acting at the age of eleven in my local theatre.”

4. (intransitive)Of a play: to be acted out (well or badly).

   “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.”

5. (intransitive)To behave in a certain manner for an indefinite length of time.

   “A dog which acts aggressively is likely to bite.”

   “I believe that Bill’s stuck-up because of the way that he acts.”

   “He’s acting strangely—I think there’s something wrong with him.”

6. (copulative)To convey an appearance of being.

   “He acted unconcerned so the others wouldn’t worry.”

7. (intransitive)To do something that causes a change binding on the doer.

   “act on behalf of John”

8. (intransitive)To have an effect (on).

   “High-pressure oxygen acts on the central nervous system and may cause convulsions or death.”

   “Gravitational force acts on heavy bodies.”

9. (transitive)To play (a role).

   “He’s been acting Shakespearean leads since he was twelve.”

10. (transitive)To feign.

    “He acted the angry parent, but was secretly amused.”

    “With acted fear the villain thus pursued.”

11. (intransitive)To carry out work as a legal representative in relation to a particular legal matter.

    “A lawyer cannot act until they have been formally instructed by their client.”

12. (intransitive)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.

    “This group acts on the circle, so it can't be left-orderable!”

13. (obsolete, transitive)To move to action; to actuate; to animate.

    “Self-love, the spring of motion, acts the soul.”

14. (Scotland, obsolete, transitive)To enact; to decree.

adv

1. (Internet, abbreviation, alt-of, clipping)Clipping of actually.

   “james did u act enjoy that juice? looked like u were gagging icl”