action Definition - English Dictionary | action Explanations and Pronunciations

(military) Combat.

(law) A charge or other process in a law court (also called lawsuit and actio).

(art, painting and sculpture) The attitude or position of the several parts of the body as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted.

(business, obsolete, a Gallicism) A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or in the public funds.

VT (management) To act on a request etc, in order to put it into effect.
1. ‘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.’

VT (chiefly archaic) 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.’

Interjection

Demanding or signifying the start of something, usually an act or scene of a theatric performance.
1. The director yelled ‘Action!’ before the camera started rolling.

More Examples

Used in the Middle of Sentence
- But how effective could such actions be against Torschlusspanik — a flight to the exit by investors convinced that a moratorium and exchange restrictions would soon be imposed?
- With lust for action as its only through line, Amelia's posterlike life runs in a straight line from nonflight to flight to death.
- It has been reported that the hypo- triglyceridemic action of PPARα agonists results (at least in part) from induction of the expression and activity of LPL [24 ,28 ].
Used in the Beginning of Sentence
- Action potentials were recorded from the midmyocardial region at different pacing rates (4000, 2000, 1000, 500, 333 and 250 ms BCL) using floating microelectrodes (Fig 9 ).
- Action groups are crying out against plans to build on the woodland area.
Used in the Ending of Sentence
- Train services will be retimed tomorrow because of strike action.
- As a result, as the years have passed, my involvement with storytelling has expanded to the territory of compassionate action.
- Debate on the Kellogg Mar renunciation treaty dragged on in the senate today with no immediate prospect of final action.

action meaning