Meaning of act In English

• 0 to behave in the stated way:

  • Don't be so silly - you're acting like a child!

  • He acted as if he'd never met me before.

• 1 to do something for a particular purpose or to solve a problem:

  • [ + to infinitive ] Engineers acted quickly to repair the damaged pipes.

  • She acted without thinking.

  • Who is acting for/on behalf of (= who is representing) the defendant?

  • He never acts on other people's advice (= does what other people suggest).

  • Acting on impulse (= without thinking first) can get you into a lot of trouble.

• 2 to have an effect:

  • The anaesthetic acted quickly.

• 3 to perform a part in a film, play, etc.:

  • Ellis Pike was chosen to act the part of the lawyer in the film.

  • Have you ever acted in a play before?

  • Why are you always acting the fool?

• 4 something that you do:

  • an act of aggression/bravery/madness/terrorism

  • a kind/thoughtless/selfish act

  • The simple act of telling someone about a problem can help.

  • Primitive people regarded storms as an act of God.

  • artistic representations of the sexual act

• 5 behaviour that hides your real feelings or intentions:

  • Was she really upset or was that just an act?

  • a comedy/juggling/trapeze act

  • Our next act is a very talented young musician.

  • Shakespeare's plays were written in five acts.

  • The hero does not enter until the second act/Act Two.

• 6 a law or formal decision made by a parliament or other group of people who make the laws for their country:

  • an Act of Parliament

  • the Betting and Gaming Act

  • Almost two hundred suspects were detained in the UK last year under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

  • The state legislature passed an act banning the sale of automatic weapons.

• 7 to do something for a particular purpose or in a particular way:

  • [ + to infinitive ] The president acted quickly to bring federal aid to areas damaged by flooding.

  • She acted responsibly.

  • He acted as if he’d never seen me before.

  • She acted as (= performed in the position of) a tour guide for the group.

  • He said he was acting on (= doing something as a result of) the advice of his lawyer.

• 8 to perform in a movie, play, or television show:

  • [ T ] He acts the part of a small-town lawyer.

  • [ I ] She has acted in lots of television sitcoms.

• 9 a law made by Congress or another legislature:

  • an act of Congress

• 10 one of a set of short performances that are parts of a show, or the person or group who performs one of these parts:

  • a circus act

  • fig. His story is just an act (= is pretended and not sincere).

  • The play is presented in three acts.

• 11 something that someone does:

  • A partner may be held responsible for the acts of his co-partners committed in the name of the firm.

  • He has led an investigation into stock market manipulation and various illegal acts and swindles.

• 12 a law or formal decision made by a parliament or other group of elected law-makers:

  • The 2010 act, with its requirement for a review of financial controls, has helped drive up the cost of corporate audits by as much as 50%.

• 13 to be so good that it is unlikely that anyone or anything that comes after will be as good:

  • The company could lose momentum without its chief executive, who will be a hard act to follow.

• 14 to take advantage of or become involved with something that someone else started:

  • There's always a debate in the machine room about the product, long before the marketing men and editors get in on the act.

• 15 to organize yourself so that you do things in an effective way:

  • Mr Dinsdale said it was crucial that the Department of Trade & Industry got its act together.

• 16 to do something with the intention of achieving a particular result:

  • act to do sth Engineers will need to act quickly to repair the damaged pipes.

  • act quickly/swiftly/now Anyone who wants a fixed-rate deal should act now.

  • act decisively/improperly/responsibly It is now time for management to act decisively.

  • act against/in sb's interests There were claims that the management was acting against shareholders' interests.

  • Members should act in the best interests of the company.

• 17 to do something believing that it is the right thing to do:

  • Although errors of judgement were made, at all times the company's staff acted in good faith.