action

noun actions

1. countable, uncountable The effort of performing or doing something.
2. countable, uncountable Something done, often so as to accomplish a purpose.

   Similar: deed

3. countable, uncountable A way of motion or functioning. Knead bread with a rocking action.
4. countable, uncountable Fast-paced activity. a movie full of exciting action
5. countable, uncountable The way in which a mechanical device acts when used; especially a firearm. Pressing a piano key causes the action of the hammer on the string.
6. countable, uncountable The way in which cartridges are loaded, locked, and extracted from the mechanism. pump-action shotgun
7. countable, uncountable A physical mechanism of a firearm or other device. Spinola was hovering about the external fittings of the figure with unusual fussiness. When at length he released the left hand it seemed for an almost perceptible moment that the action hung. Then the arm descended and carried out the discard.
8. countable, uncountable The mechanism, that is the set of moving mechanical parts, of a keyboard instrument, like a piano, which transfers the motion of the key to the sound-making device. The run in bar 12 is almost impossible with this piano's heavy action.
9. countable, uncountable The distance separating the strings and the fingerboard on a string instrument. You're getting fret buzz because the action is too low.
10. countable, slang, uncountable Sexual intercourse. She gave him some action.

    Similar: aphrodisia, carnal knowledge, coitus, coition, commerce, commixtion, congress, conjunction, connection, consummation, conversation, copulation

11. countable, uncountable Combat. He saw some action in the Korean War.
12. countable, uncountable A charge or other process in a law court (also called lawsuit and actio).

    Similar: suit, action, cause, lawsuit, litigation

13. countable, uncountable A way in which each element of some algebraic structure transforms some other structure or set, in a way which respects the structure of the first. Formally, this may be seen as a morphism from the first structure into some structure of endomorphisms of the second; for example, a group action of a group G on a set S can be seen as a group homomorphism from G into the set of bijections on S (which form a group under function composition), while a module M over a ring R can be defined as an abelian group together with a ring homomorphism from R into the ring of group endomorphisms of M (which is
14. countable, uncountable The product of energy and time, especially the product of the Lagrangian and time.
15. countable, uncountable The event or connected series of events, either real or imaginary, forming the subject of a play, poem, or other composition; the unfolding of the drama of events.
16. countable, uncountable The attitude or position of the several parts of the body as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted.
17. countable, uncountable spin put on the bowling ball.
18. countable, obsolete, uncountable A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or in the public funds. So saying he presented him with two actions of above two thousand livres each.
19. countable, uncountable A religious performance or solemn function, i.e. action sermon, a sacramental sermon in the Scots Presbyterian Church. The Action Sermon is quite simply, then, the eucharistic sermon.
20. countable, uncountable A process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings).
21. Austrian, countable, uncountable Purposeful behavior.
22. countable, uncountable A demonstration by activists. The protest was set up in less than three weeks by an ad hoc group called Act Up […] According to Kramer, Act Up will continue AIDS-related organizing, possibly including an action at an early June Washington, D.C., AIDS conference for scientists worldwide.
23. uncountable The opportunity to act during a betting round. The action starts with the small blind.
24. broadly, slang, uncountable Heavy betting activity. There was a lot of action on the flop; it was an action flop.

Similar: act, action, acting, cocky, deed, doing · Opposite: inaction, omission

interjection action!

1. Demanding or signifying the start of something, usually a performance. The director yelled ‘Action!’ after the cameras started rolling.

   Opposite: cut

adjective more action · most action

1. Manglish arrogant

verb actions · actioning · actioned

1. transitive To act on a request etc, in order to put it into effect. ‘Here, give me the minutes of Monday’s meeting. I’ll action your points for you while you get on and sort out the open day.’
2. archaic, transitive To initiate a legal action against someone. ‘I have no business to settle with you—arrest me, Sir, at your peril and I’ll action you in law for false imprisonment.’