act

verb

• 1take action; do something:they urged Washington to act [with infinitive]:governments must act to reduce pollution
• (act on) take action according to or in the light of:I shall certainly act on his suggestion
• (act for) take action in order to bring about:one’s ability to act for community change
• (act for/on behalf of) represent (someone) on a contractual, legal, or paid basis:he chose an attorney to act for him
• (act from/out of) be motivated by:you acted from greed

• 2 [with adverbial] behave in the way specified:they followed the man who was seen acting suspiciously he acts as if he owned the place
• (act as/like) behave in the manner of:try to act like civilized adults

• 3 (act as) fulfill the function or serve the purpose of:they need volunteers to act as foster parents
• have the effect of:a five-year sentence will act as a deterrent

• 4take effect; have a particular effect:bacteria act on proteins and sugar

• 5perform a fictional role in a play, movie, or television production:she acted in her first professional role at the age of six
• [with object] perform (a part or role):he acted the role of the dragon he got the chance to act out other people’s jobs
• [with complement] behave so as to appear to be; pretend to be:I acted dumb at first
• [with object] (act something out) perform a narrative as if it were a play:encouraging students to act out the stories
• [with object] (act something out) Psychoanalysis express repressed or unconscious feelings in overt behavior:the impulses of hatred and killing which some human beings act out

noun

• 1a thing done; a deed:a criminal act the act of writing down one’s thoughts an act of heroism

• 2 [in singular] a pretense:she was putting on an act and laughing a lot
• [with adjective or noun modifier] a particular type of behavior or routine:he did his Sir Galahad act

• 3 Law a written ordinance of Congress, or another legislative body; a statute:the act to abolish slavery
• a document attesting a legal transaction.
• (often acts) dated the recorded decisions or proceedings of a committee or an academic body.

• 4a main division of a play, ballet, or opera.
• a set performance:her one-woman poetry act
• a performing group:an act called the Apple Blossom Sisters