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act meaning

EN[ækt]
US
WAct
  • Act or ACT may mean: Act (band), a British band Act (document), a document recording the legality of a transaction or contract Act of Parliament, Act of Congress or Act of Tynwald, a statute or law passed by a legislature Act (drama), a segment of a performance, such as a play or opera
  • NounPLacts
    1. NC Something done, a deed.
      1. an act of goodwill ‎
    2. OBS NU Actuality.
      1. NC A product of a legislative body, a statute.
        1. 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.
      2. The process of doing something.
        1. He was caught in the act of stealing. ‎
      3. NC A formal or official record of something done.
        1. NC A division of a theatrical performance.
          1. “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. […]”
        2. NC A performer or performers in a show.
          1. Which act did you prefer? The soloist or the band? ‎
        3. NC Any organized activity.
          1. The minute you let it be known you're planning a sales campaign everybody wants to get into the act.
        4. NC A display of behaviour.
          1. A thesis maintained in public, in some English universities, by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student.
            1. NC A display of behaviour meant to deceive.
              1. to put on an act
          2. VerbSGactsPRactingPT, PPacted
            1. VI To do something.
              1. If you don't act soon, you will be in trouble.
            2. OBS VT To do (something); to perform.
              1. VI To perform a theatrical role.
                1. I started acting at the age of eleven in my local theatre.
              2. VI To behave in a certain way.
                1. He's acting strangely - I think there's something wrong with him.
              3. (copulative) To convey an appearance of being.
                1. He acted unconcerned so the others wouldn't worry.
              4. To do something that causes a change binding on the doer.
                1. act on behalf of John
              5. VI (construed with on or upon) To have an effect (on).
                1. High-pressure oxygen acts on the central nervous system and may cause convulsions or death.
                2. Gravitational force acts on heavy bodies.
              6. VT To play (a role).
                1. He's been acting Shakespearean leads since he was twelve.
              7. VT To feign.
                1. He acted the angry parent, but was secretly amused.
              8. (mathematics, intransitive, construed with on or upon, of a group) To map via a homomorphism to a group of automorphisms (of).
                1. This group acts on the circle, so it can't be left-orderable!
              9. OBS VT To move to action; to actuate; to animate.
              10. More Examples
                1. Used in the Middle of Sentence
                  • The exact physiological function of BChE remains elusive, although it acts as an endogenous bioscavenger for anticholinesterase agents.
                  • In old cultures, contents of cells without rhizopodia can turn dark and act as resting (cyst-like) stages.
                  • These cryoprotectants act colligatively by replacing the water and thus decreasing the amount of ice formed in the body.
                2. Used in the Beginning of Sentence
                  • Act your age and stop fiddling with that pen - you’re showing us up.
                3. Used in the Ending of Sentence
                  • The theme of the prodigal son recurs later in the third act.
                  • She denied it but she had been spotted in the act.
                  • Earlier the gentleman from California (Mr. Cardoza) got up on the floor, and he was upset that somebody had said that the underlying bill would eviscerate the Endangered Species Act.

              Meaning of act for the defined word.

              Grammatically, this word "act" is a noun, more specifically, a countable noun and a singularia tantum. It's also a verb, more specifically, a copulative verb, an intransitive verb and a transitive verb.
              • Part-of-Speech Hierarchy
                1. Nouns
                  • Countable nouns
                    • Singularia tantum
                      • Uncountable nouns
                    • Verbs
                      • Copulative verbs
                        • Intransitive verbs
                          • Transitive verbs
                        Difficultness: Level 1
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                        Easy     ➨     Difficult
                        Definiteness: Level 9
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                        Definite    ➨     Versatile
                        Related Links:
                        1. en action
                        2. fr action
                        3. en active
                        4. fr active
                        5. en actually
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