act

act / akt/ • v. [intr.] 1. take action; do something: they urged Washington to act. ∎  (act on) take action according to or in the light of: I shall certainly act on his suggestion. ∎  (act for) take action in order to bring about: one's ability to act for community change. ∎  (act for/on behalf of) represent (someone) on a contractual, legal, or paid basis: he chose an attorney to act for him. ∎  (act from/out of) be motivated by: you acted from greed. 2. behave in the way specified: the man who was acting suspiciously. ∎  (act as/like) behave in the manner of: try to act like civilized adults. 3. (act as) fulfill the function or serve the purpose of: they need volunteers to act as foster parents. ∎  have the effect of: a five-year sentence will act as a deterrent. 4. take effect; have a particular effect: bacteria act on proteins and sugar. 5. perform a fictional role in a play, movie, or television production: she acted in her first professional role at the age of six. ∎  [tr.] perform (a part or role). ∎  behave so as to appear to be; pretend to be: I acted dumb at first. ∎  [tr.] (act something out) perform a narrative as if it were a play: encouraging students to act out the stories. ∎  [tr.] (act something out) Psychoanalysis express repressed or unconscious feelings in overt behavior. • n. 1. a thing done; a deed: a criminal act. 2. [in sing.] a pretense: she was putting on an act and laughing a lot. ∎  a particular type of behavior or routine: he did his Sir Galahad act. 3. Law a written ordinance of Congress, or another legislative body; a statute: the act to abolish slavery. ∎  a document attesting a legal transaction. ∎  (often acts) dated the recorded decisions or proceedings of a committee or an academic body. 4. a main division of a play, ballet, or opera. ∎  a set performance: her one-woman poetry act. ∎  a performing group: a sisters act. PHRASES: act of God an instance of uncontrollable natural forces in operation (often used in insurance claims). catch someone in the act surprise someone in the process of doing something wrong: the thieves were caught in the act. clean up one's act behave in a more acceptable manner. get one's act together inf. organize oneself in the manner required in order to achieve something. in the act of in the process of: they photographed him in the act of reading other people's mail. read the Riot Actsee Riot Act.PHRASAL VERBS: act out misbehave, esp. when unhappy or stressed. act up (of a thing) fail to function properly. ∎  (of a person) misbehave. DERIVATIVES: act·a·bil·i·ty / ˌaktəˈbilitē/ n. (in sense 5 of the verb). act·a·ble adj. (in sense 5 of the verb).