action
action
(ˈækʃən
) noun
1 the state or process of doing something or being active; operation
2 something done, such as an act or deed
3 movement or posture during some physical activity
4 activity, force, or energy ■ a man of action
5 (usually plural) conduct or behaviour
6 law
a a legal proceeding brought by one party against another, seeking redress of a wrong or recovery of what is due; lawsuit
b the right to bring such a proceeding
7 the operating mechanism, esp in a piano, gun, watch, etc
8 (of a guitar) the distance between the strings and the fingerboard
9 (of keyboard instruments) the sensitivity of the keys to touch
10 the force applied to a body ■ the reaction is equal and opposite to the action
11 the way in which something operates or works
12 See
out of action
13 physics
a a property of a system expressed as twice the mean kinetic energy of the system over a given time interval multiplied by the time interval
b the product of work or energy and time, usually expressed in joule seconds ■ Planck's constant of action
14 the events that form the plot of a story, film, play, or other composition
15 military
a a minor engagement
b fighting at sea or on land ■ he saw action in the war
16 philosophy behaviour which is voluntary and explicable in terms of the agent's reasons, as contrasted with that which is coerced or determined causally
18 informal the profits of an enterprise or transaction (esp in the phrase a piece of the action)
19 slang the main activity, esp social activity
▷ verb (transitive)
20 to put into effect; take action concerning ■ matters decided at the meeting cannot be actioned until the following week
▷ exclamation
[C14: accioun, ultimately from Latin āctiōn-, stem of āctiō, from agere to do, act]
