action

The effort of performing or doing something.

Something done, often so as to accomplish a purpose.

Knead bread with a rocking action.

a movie full of exciting action

Pressing a piano key causes the action of the hammer on the string.

The way in which a mechanical device acts when used; especially a firearm.

pump-action shotgun

(firearms) The way in which cartridges are loaded, locked, and extracted from the mechanism.

The run in bar 12 is almost impossible with this piano's heavy action.

(music) 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.

You're getting fret buzz because the action is too low.

(music, lutherie) The distance separating the strings and the fingerboard on a string instrument.

She gave him some action.

I hope to get a bit of action with the hot guy from the club.

(slang, typically with a quantifier) Sexual intercourse.

He saw some action in the Korean War.

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

(mathematics) 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 also called the action of R on M).

(physics) The product of energy and time, especially the product of the Lagrangian and time.

(literature) 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.

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

So saying he presented him with two actions of above two thousand livres each.

1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:

the Euripus of funds and actions

1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC:

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

The Action Sermon is quite simply, then, the eucharistic sermon.

2008, Duncan B. Forrester, Doug Gay, Worship and Liturgy in Context, scm Press, page 88:

(Christianity) A religious performance or solemn function, i.e. action sermon, a sacramental sermon in the Scots Presbyterian Church.

(sciences) A process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings).

(Misesian praxeology, Austrian economics) Purposeful behavior.

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.

1987 April 11, Kim Westheimer, “NY Protesters Rip FDA”, in Gay Community News, page 1:

en-noun

action (countable and uncountable, plural actions)

→ Arabic: أَكْشِن (ʔakšin)

→ Bulgarian: екшън (ekšǎn)

→ German: Action

→ Irish: aicsean

→ Hebrew: אקשן (akshn)

→ Japanese: アクション (akushon)

→ Korean: 액션 (aeksyeon)

→ Russian: экшн (ekšn)

optrede

something done so as to accomplish a purpose

koneisto

music: set of moving mechanical parts of a keyboard instrument

kielen korkeus

music: distance separating the strings and the fretboard

liike

painting and sculpture: attitude or position of the several parts of the body

From Middle English accion, from Old French aucion, acciun, from Latin āctiō(n) (“act of doing or making”), from āctus + action suffix -iō(n), perfect passive participle of agere (“do, act”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti; see also act, active. By surface analysis, act + -ion.


action

The director yelled ‘Action!’ after the cameras started rolling.

Demanding or signifying the start of something, usually a performance.


action

en-adj

action (comparative more action, superlative most action)

more action (comparative)
most action (superlative)


action

‘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.’

2004, Ros Jay, Richard Templar, “Fast thinking: project”, in Fast Thinking Manager's Manual, 2nd edition, Pearson Education, →ISBN, Fast Thinking Leader, page 276:

Violent reactions from the Jewish authorities were expected and difficulties of actioning the new guidelines were foreseen.

2005, Fritz Liebreich, “The physical confrontation: interception and diversion policies in theory and practice”, in Britain's Navel and Political Reaction to the Illegal Immigration of Jews to Palestine, 1945-1948, Routledge, →ISBN, page 196:

HMRC said that one reason they had not actioned her appeal was because she had said in her appeal form ‘I am appealing against the overpayment for childcare for 2003-04, 2004-05’, thus implying she was disputing her ‘overpayment’.

2007, Great Britain: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, “Case study: 11257”, in Tax Credits: Getting it wrong? 5th report session 2006-2007, The Stationery Office, →ISBN, Chapter 2: Changes and developments since June 2005, page 26:

Do say: “I can action that for you going forward, my little summer squash.”

2024 May 13, “Spice up your spreadsheets! Should you run your relationship like a business?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(transitive, management) To act on a request etc, in order to put it into effect.

‘I have no business to settle with you—arrest me, Sir, at your peril and I’ll action you in law for false imprisonment.’

1856, Thomas Chandler Haliburton, The Attaché: or Sam Slick in England, new revised edition, Stringer & Townsend, Chapter XLVII: The Horse Stealer; or All Trades Have Tricks But Our Own, page 270:

“Scrip threatened me at first with an action for slander—he spoke of actions to the wrong man though—action! no, no no. I should have actioned him—ha! ha! [...]”

1844, Robert Mackenzie Daniel, The Grave Digger: A novel by the author of The Scottish Heiress, volume I, T. C. Newby, Chapter IX: How the Grave-differ entertained a lady, pages 189–190:

I have actioned him for Libel, but he won’t plead, and says he will make himself bankrupt & won’t pay a penny.

1871, Michael Shermer, quoting Alfred Russell Wallace, In Darwin’s shadow: The Life and Science of Alfred Russell Wallace, Oxford University Press US, published 2002, →ISBN, Chapter 10. Heretic Personality, page 261:

In 1589 the Court went so far as to effect a reconciliation between Michel le Petevin and his wife after she actioned him for ill treatment and adultery with their chambermaid.

1996, Darryl Mark Ogier, “Discipline: Enforcement”, in Reformation and Society in Guernsey, Boydell & Brewer, →ISBN, Part Two: The Calvinist Regime, page 148:

(transitive, chiefly archaic) To initiate a legal action against someone.

en-verb

action (third-person singular simple present actions, present participle actioning, simple past and past participle actioned)

actions (present singular third-person)
actioning (participle present)
actioned (participle past)
actioned (past)