act

proper noun A.C.T. · A. C. T.

1. abbreviation, 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, initialism Initialism of American College Test
3. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Association of Consumers and Taxpayers, a political party of New Zealand.
4. New Zealand ACT New Zealand, a liberal conservative political party in New Zealand.

noun ACTs · A.C.T. · A. C. T.

1. countable An instance of a certain standardized college admissions test in the United States, originally called the American College Test.
2. abbreviation, acronym, uncountable Acronym of acceptance and commitment therapy

noun acts

1. countable Something done, a deed. an act of goodwill

   Similar: deed

2. obsolete, uncountable Actuality. The seeds of plants are not at first in act, but in possibility, what they afterward grow to be.
3. countable, uncountable Something done once and for all, as distinguished from a work.
4. 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.

   Similar: statute

5. 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.
6. countable, uncountable The process of doing something. He was caught in the act of stealing.
7. countable A formal or official record of something done.
8. 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
9. countable A performer or performers in a show. Which act did you prefer? The soloist or the band?
10. countable Any organized activity. The minute you let it be known you're planning a sales campaign everybody wants to get into the act.
11. countable A display of behaviour.
12. countable A display of behaviour meant to deceive. to put on an act
13. 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.
14. abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of act of parliament
15. European Union, countable, uncountable A regulation (see Usage notes).

Similar: pretense

verb acts · acting · acted · act

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
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.
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, construed with on or upon To have an effect (on). High-pressure oxygen acts on the central nervous system and may cause convulsions or death.
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.
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, construed with on or upon, of an algebraic structure 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.

adverb more act · most act

1. Internet, abbreviation, clipping Clipping of actually james did u act enjoy that juice? looked like u were gagging icl

noun Acts

1. abbreviation, ellipsis Ellipsis of Act of Parliament