act

an act of goodwill

That best portion of a good man's life, / His little, nameless, unremembered acts / Of kindness and of love.

The seeds of plants are not at first in act, but in possibility, what they afterward grow to be.

1594–1597, Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, →OCLC, (please specify the page):

(theology) Something done once and for all, as distinguished from a work.

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.

2012 March 22, William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter, “The British Longitude Act Reconsidered”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 87:

(law, countable) A product of a legislative body, a statute.

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.

2021 February 4, Celine McNicholas, Margaret Poydock, Lynn Rhinehart, “How the PRO Act restores workers' rights to unionize”, in Economic Policy Institute:

(law, countable) (In the United States) A legislative proposal, a bill that has not yet become law.

He was caught in the act of stealing.

(countable) A formal or official record of something done.

“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. […]”

1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Lisson Grove Mystery”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:

The pivotal moment in the play was in the first scene of the second act.

(countable, drama) A division of a theatrical performance.

Which act did you prefer? The soloist or the band?

(countable) A performer or performers in a show.

The minute you let it be known you're planning a sales campaign everybody wants to get into the act.

1934, Babette Hughes, One egg: a farce in one act, page 46:

to put on an act

He said, "I'm just curious, is this for real or just an act? / Can't tell if you love or hate me, never met someone like that"

2023 September 15, Tate McRae, Amy Allen, Jasper Harris, Ryan Tedder, “Greedy”, in Think Later, performed by Tate McRae:

(countable) A display of behaviour meant to deceive.

A thesis maintained in public, in some English universities, by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student.

act of parliament
act of parliament#English

en-noun

act (countable and uncountable, plural acts)

գործողություն

drama: division of theatrical performance

From Middle English acte, from Old French acte, from Latin ācta (“register of events”), plural of āctum (“decree, law”), from agere (“to do, to act”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti. Compare German Akte (“file”). Partially displaced deed, from Old English dǣd (“act, deed”).


act

If you don’t act soon, you will be in trouble.

that we act our temporal affairs with a deſire no greater than our neceſſity

1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, “Signes of Purity of Intention”, in The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC, page 23:

Industry doth beget by producing good habits, and facility of acting things expedient for us to do.

a. 1678 (date written), Isaac Barrow, “(please specify the chapter name or sermon number). Of Industry in General”, in The Works of Dr. Isaac Barrow. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: A[braham] J[ohn] Valpy, […], published 1830–1831, →OCLC:

Uplifted hands that at convenient times / Could act extortion and the worst of crimes.

(obsolete, transitive) To do (something); to perform.

I started acting at the age of eleven in my local theatre.

(intransitive) To perform a theatrical role.

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.

2011, Effiong Johnson, Play Production Processes, page 180:

(intransitive) Of a play: to be acted out (well or badly).

A dog which acts aggressively is likely to bite.

I believe that Bill’s stuck-up because of the way that he acts.

He’s acting strangely—I think there’s something wrong with him.

(intransitive) To behave in a certain manner for an indefinite length of time.

He acted unconcerned so the others wouldn’t worry.

(copulative) To convey an appearance of being.

act on behalf of John

(intransitive) To do something that causes a change binding on the doer.

High-pressure oxygen acts on the central nervous system and may cause convulsions or death.

Gravitational force acts on heavy bodies.

(intransitive, construed with on or upon) To have an effect (on).

He’s been acting Shakespearean leads since he was twelve.

He acted the angry parent, but was secretly amused.

With acted fear the villain thus pursued.

1697, Virgil, “The Second Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

A lawyer cannot act until they have been formally instructed by their client.

(intransitive, law) To carry out work as a legal representative in relation to a particular legal matter.

This group acts on the circle, so it can't be left-orderable!

scalar multiplication
scalar multiplication

(intransitive, mathematics, 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.

Self-love, the spring of motion, acts the soul.

1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC:

(obsolete, transitive) To move to action; to actuate; to animate.

The Dictionary of the Scots Language
w:Dictionary of the Scots Language

Scottish Language Dictionaries
w:Scottish Language Dictionaries

(obsolete, Scotland, transitive) To enact; to decree.

en-verb

act (third-person singular simple present acts, present participle acting, simple past and past participle acted)

acts (present singular third-person)
acting (participle present)
acted (participle past)
acted (past)
act (infinitive)
act (first-person present singular)
acted (first-person past singular)
act (present second-person singular)
actest (archaic present second-person singular)
acted (past second-person singular)
actedst (archaic past second-person singular)
acts (present singular third-person)
acteth (archaic present singular third-person)
acted (past singular third-person)
act (plural present)
acted (past plural)
act (present subjunctive)
acted (past subjunctive)
act (imperative present)
acting (participle present)
acted (participle past)

притворя́ться impf (pritvorjátʹsja, literally “to pretend”)


act

james did u act enjoy that juice? looked like u were gagging icl

en-adv

act (comparative more act, superlative most act)

more act (comparative)
most act (superlative)