Adjacent Words

Action definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

AC'TION, n. [L. actio. See Act.]
1. Literally, a driving; hence, the state of acting or moving; exertion of power or force, as when one body acts on another; or action is the effect of power exerted on one body by another; motion produced. Hence, action is opposed to rest. Action, when produced by one body on another, is mechanical; when produced by the will of living being, spontaneous or voluntary.
[See Def. 3.]
2. An act or thing done; a deed.
The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him are actions weighed. 2 Samuel 2.
3. In mechanics, agency; operation; driving impulse; effort of one body upon another; as, the action of wind upon a ship's sails. Also the effect of such action.
4. In ethics, the external signs or expression of the sentiments of a moral agent; conduct; behavior; demeanor; that is, motion or movement, with respect to a rule or propriety.
5. In poetry, a series of events, called also the subject or fable; this is of two kinds; the principal action which is more strictly the fable, and the incidental action or episode.
6. In oratory, gesture or gesticulation; the external deportment of the speaker, or the accommodation of his attitude, voice, gestures, and countenance to the subject, or to the thoughts and feelings of the mind.
7. In physiology, the motions or functions of the body, vital, animal and natural; vital and involuntary, as the action of the heart and lungs; animal, as muscular, and all voluntary motions; natural, as manducation, deglutition, and digestion.
8. In law, literally, an urging for right; a suit or process, by which a demand is made of a right; a claim made before a tribunal. Actions are real, personal or mixed; real, or feudal, when the demandant claims a title to real estate; personal when a man demands a debt, personal duty, or damages in lieu of it, or satisfaction for an injury to person or property; and mixed, when real estate is demanded, with damages for a wrong sustained. Actions are also civil or penal; civil, when instituted solely in behalf of private persons, to recover debts or damages; penal, when instituted to recover a penalty, imposed by way of punishment. The word is also used for a right of action; as, the law gives an action for every claim.
A chose in action, is a right to a thing, in opposition to the possession. A bond or note is a chose in action and gives the owner a right to prosecute his claim to the money, as he has an absolute property in a right, as well as in a thing, in possession.
9. In some countries of Europe, action is a share in the capital stock of a company, or in the public funds, equivalent to our term share; and consequently, in a more general sense, to stocks. The word is also used for movable effects.
10. In painting and sculpture, the attitude or position of the several parts of the body, by which they seem to be actuated by passions; as, the arm extended, to represent the act of giving or receiving.
11. Battle; fight; engagement between troops in war, whether on land or water, or by a greater or smaller number of combatants. This and the 8th definition exhibit the literal meaning of action - a driving or urging.
Quantity of action, in physics, the product of the mass of a body by the space it runs through and its velocity.
In many cases action and act are synonymous; but some distinction between them is observable. Action seems to have more relation to the power that acts, and its operation and process of acting; and act, more relation to the effect or operation complete. Action is also more generally used for ordinary transactions; and act, for such as are remarkable, or dignified; as, all our actions should be regulated by prudence; a prince is distinguished by acts of heroism or humanity.
Action taking, in Shakespeare, is used for litigious.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: something done (usually as opposed to something said); "there were stories of murders and other unnatural actions"
2: the state of being active; "his sphere of activity"; "he is out of action" [syn: action, activity, activeness] [ant: inaction, inactiveness, inactivity]
3: a military engagement; "he saw action in Korea" [syn: military action, action]
4: a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings); "the action of natural forces"; "volcanic activity" [syn: natural process, natural action, action, activity]
5: the series of events that form a plot; "his novels always have a lot of action"
6: the trait of being active and energetic and forceful; "a man of action"
7: the operating part that transmits power to a mechanism; "the piano had a very stiff action" [syn: action, action mechanism]
8: a judicial proceeding brought by one party against another; one party prosecutes another for a wrong done or for protection of a right or for prevention of a wrong [syn: legal action, action, action at law]
9: an act by a government body or supranational organization; "recent federal action undermined the segregationist position"; "the United Nations must have the power to propose and organize action without being hobbled by irrelevant issues"; "the Union action of emancipating Southern slaves"
10: the most important or interesting work or activity in a specific area or field; "the action is no longer in technology stocks but in municipal bonds"; "gawkers always try to get as close to the action as possible" v
1: institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against; "He was warned that the district attorney would process him"; "She actioned the company for discrimination" [syn: action, sue, litigate, process]
2: put in effect; "carry out a task"; "execute the decision of the people"; "He actioned the operation" [syn: carry through, accomplish, execute, carry out, action, fulfill, fulfil]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English accioun, from Anglo-French accion, from Latin action-, actio, from agere to do — more at agent Date: 14th century 1. the initiating of a proceeding in a court of justice by which one demands or enforces one's right; also the proceeding itself 2. the bringing about of an alteration by force or through a natural agency 3. the manner or method of performing: a. an actor's or speaker's deportment or expression by means of attitude, voice, and gesture b. the style of movement of the feet and legs (as of a horse) c. a function of the body or one of its parts 4. an act of will 5. a. a thing done ; deed b. the accomplishment of a thing usually over a period of time, in stages, or with the possibility of repetition c. plural behavior, conduct <unscrupulous actions> d. initiative, enterprise <a man of action> 6. a. (1) an engagement between troops or ships (2) combat in war <gallantry in action> b. (1) an event or series of events forming a literary composition (2) the unfolding of the events of a drama or work of fiction ; plot (3) the movement of incidents in a plot c. the combination of circumstances that constitute the subject matter of a painting or sculpture 7. a. an operating mechanism b. the manner in which a mechanism or instrument operates 8. a. the price movement and trading volume of a commodity, security, or market b. the process of betting including the offering and acceptance of a bet and determination of a winner c. financial gain or an opportunity for financial gain <a piece of the action> 9. sexual activity 10. the most vigorous, productive, or exciting activity in a particular field, area, or group <they itch to go where the action is — D. J. Henahan>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 the fact or process of doing or acting (demanded action; put ideas into action). 2 forcefulness or energy as a characteristic (a woman of action). 3 the exertion of energy or influence (the action of acid on metal). 4 something done; a deed or act (not aware of his own actions). 5 a a series of events represented in a story, play, etc. b sl. exciting activity (arrived late and missed the action; want some action). 6 a armed conflict; fighting (killed in action). b an occurrence of this, esp. a minor military engagement. 7 a the way in which a machine, instrument, etc. works (explain the action of an air pump). b the mechanism that makes a machine, instrument, etc. (e.g. a musical instrument, a gun, etc.) work. c the mode or style of movement of an animal or human (usu. described in some way) (a runner with good action). 8 a legal process; a lawsuit (bring an action). 9 (in imper.) a word of command to begin, esp. used by a film director etc. --v.tr. bring a legal action against. Phrases and idioms: action committee (or group etc.) a body formed to take active steps, esp. in politics. action-packed colloq. full of action or excitement. action painting an aspect of abstract expressionism with paint applied by the artist's random or spontaneous gestures. action point a proposal for action, esp. arising from a discussion etc. action replay a playback of part of a television broadcast, esp. a sporting event, often in slow motion. action stations positions taken up by troops etc. ready for battle. go into action start work. out of action not working. take action begin to act (esp. energetically in protest). Etymology: ME f. OF f. L actio -onis (as ACT)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Action Ac"tion, n. [OF. action, L. actio, fr. agere to do. See Act.] 1. A process or condition of acting or moving, as opposed to rest; the doing of something; exertion of power or force, as when one body acts on another; the effect of power exerted on one body by another; agency; activity; operation; as, the action of heat; a man of action. One wise in council, one in action brave. --Pope. 2. An act; a thing done; a deed; an enterprise. (pl.): Habitual deeds; hence, conduct; behavior; demeanor. The Lord is a Good of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. --1 Sam. ii. 3. 3. 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. 4. Movement; as, the horse has a spirited action. 5. (Mech.) Effective motion; also, mechanism; as, the breech action of a gun. 6. (Physiol.) Any one of the active processes going on in an organism; the performance of a function; as, the action of the heart, the muscles, or the gastric juice. 7. (Orat.) Gesticulation; the external deportment of the speaker, or the suiting of his attitude, voice, gestures, and countenance, to the subject, or to the feelings. 8. (Paint. & Sculp.) The attitude or position of the several parts of the body as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted. 9. (Law) (a) A suit or process, by which a demand is made of a right in a court of justice; in a broad sense, a judicial proceeding for the enforcement or protection of a right, the redress or prevention of a wrong, or the punishment of a public offense. (b) A right of action; as, the law gives an action for every claim. 10. (Com.) A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or in the public funds; hence, in the plural, equivalent to stocks. [A Gallicism] [Obs.] The Euripus of funds and actions. --Burke. 11. An engagement between troops in war, whether on land or water; a battle; a fight; as, a general action, a partial action. 12. (Music) The mechanical contrivance by means of which the impulse of the player's finger is transmitted to the strings of a pianoforte or to the valve of an organ pipe. --Grove. Chose in action. (Law) See Chose. Quantity of action (Physics), the product of the mass of a body by the space it runs through, and its velocity. Syn: Action, Act. Usage: In many cases action and act are synonymous; but some distinction is observable. Action involves the mode or process of acting, and is usually viewed as occupying some time in doing. Act has more reference to the effect, or the operation as complete. To poke the fire is an act, to reconcile friends who have quarreled is a praiseworthy action. --C. J. Smith.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Petitory Pet"i*to*ry, a. [L. petitorius, fr. petere, petitum, to beg, ask: cf. F. p['e]titore.] Petitioning; soliciting; supplicating. --Sir W. Hamilton. Petitory suit or action (Admiralty Law), a suit in which the mere title to property is litigated and sought to be enforced, as distinguished from a possessory suit; also (Scots Law), a suit wherein the plaintiff claims something as due him by the defendant. --Burrill.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(actions, actioning actioned) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. Action is doing something for a particular purpose. The government is taking emergency action to deal with a housing crisis... N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp 2. An action is something that you do on a particular occasion. Jack was the sort of man who did not like his actions questioned. N-COUNT 3. To bring a legal action against someone means to bring a case against them in a court of law. (LEGAL) Two leading law firms are to prepare legal actions against tobacco companies. = suit, case N-COUNT 4. The action is all the important and exciting things that are happening in a situation. (INFORMAL) Hollywood is where the action is now. N-SING: the N 5. The fighting which takes place in a war can be referred to as action. Leaders in America have generally supported military action... 13 soldiers were killed and 10 wounded in action. N-UNCOUNT: oft in N 6. An action movie is a film in which a lot of dangerous and exciting things happen. An action hero is the main character in one of these films. ADJ: ADJ n 7. If you action something that needs to be done, you deal with it. (BUSINESS) Documents can be actioned, or filed immediately. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed 8. If someone or something is out of action, they are injured or damaged and cannot work or be used. He's been out of action for 16 months with a serious knee injury... PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v 9. If someone wants to have a piece of the action or a slice of the action, they want to take part in an exciting activity or situation, usually in order to make money or become more important. PHRASE 10. If you put an idea or policy into action, you begin to use it or cause it to operate. They have learned the lessons of business management theory, and put them into action. PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Activity, spontaneous process, exercise, motion, movement, play. 2. Deed (viewed as requiring a continued exertion of power), performance, feat, exploit, achievement, procedure, proceeding, acting, turn. 3. Agency, operation, force, energy, influence, instrumentality, process. 4. Battle, engagement, conflict, contest, combat, rencontre, encounter, skirmish, brush, affair. 5. Gesticulation, gesture. 6. Acting, performing, performance, enacting, representing, representation, putting on the boards, playing. 7. Subject, fable, plot, series of events. 8. (Law.) Suit, lawsuit, process, case, prosecution.

Moby Thesaurus

accomplished fact, accomplishment, achievement, act, acta, actions, activeness, activism, activity, acts, ad hoc measure, address, adventure, aerial combat, affectation, affray, agency, air, amphibious operations, anagnorisis, angle, answer, architectonics, architecture, argument, armored combat, artifice, atmosphere, automatic control, award, background, ball, battle, battle royal, bearing, behavior, behavior pattern, behavioral norm, behavioral science, big time, blow, brush, bullfight, business, carriage, cascade control, case, catastrophe, cause, cause in court, characterization, clash, clash of arms, clockworks, cockfight, color, combat, combined operations, complication, comportment, condemnation, conduct, conflict, consideration, continuity, contrivance, control action, countermove, coup, course of action, culture pattern, custom, dealings, decision, decree, deed, deliverance, demarche, demeanor, denouement, deportment, design, determination, development, device, diagnosis, dictum, direction, discharge, dodge, dogfight, doing, doings, doom, drive train, driving, dry run, effect, effectiveness, effectuation, effort, electronic control, embroilment, encounter, endeavor, energy, engagement, enterprise, episode, exchange of blows, execution, exercise, exertion, expedient, exploit, fable, fait accompli, falling action, feat, feedback control, fight, fighting, finding, fire fight, fluid operations, folkway, force, fray, fulfillment, fun, fun and games, function, functioning, funmaking, game, gear, gest, gestures, gimmick, go, goings-on, good time, great fun, ground combat, guise, hand, hand-to-hand combat, hand-to-hand fight, handiwork, handling, high old time, high time, house-to-house combat, improvisation, incident, influence, initiative, innards, job, judicial process, jury-rig, jury-rigged expedient, last expedient, last resort, last shift, laughs, lawsuit, legal action, legal case, legal proceedings, legal process, legal remedy, line, litigation, liveliness, local color, logistics, lovely time, machinery, maintien, makeshift, management, maneuver, maneuvers, manipulation, manner, manners, means, measure, mechanism, method, methodology, methods, mien, militancy, military operations, minor operations, mission, modus vivendi, mood, motif, motion, motions, move, movement, movements, moves, mythos, naval combat, observable behavior, occupation, operancy, operation, operations, order, overseas operations, overt act, passage, passage of arms, pattern, performance, performing, peripeteia, picnic, pis aller, pitched battle, plan, play, pleasant time, plot, poise, political activism, port, pose, posture, power, power train, practice, praxis, precedent, presence, procedure, proceeding, proceedings, process, production, prognosis, pronouncement, prosecution, quarrel, reaction, recognition, remedy, res gestae, resolution, resort, resource, responsibility, rising action, robot control, ruling, rumble, running, running fight, scheme, scramble, scrimmage, scuffle, secondary plot, sentence, servo control, servomechanism, shake-up, shift, shoving match, skirmish, slant, social science, solution, sortie, spirit, sport, staff work, stand-up fight, steering, step, stir, stopgap, story, stratagem, street fight, strength, stroke, stroke of policy, structure, struggle, stunt, style, subject, subplot, suit, suit at law, supervisory control, switch, tactic, tactics, tauromachy, temporary expedient, thematic development, theme, thing, thing done, tone, topic, tour de force, transaction, trick, trump, tug-of-war, turn, tussle, twist, undertaking, verdict, vigor, vim, vitality, war game, war plans, watchworks, way, way of life, ways, wheels, wheels within wheels, work, working, working hypothesis, working proposition, workings, works