Acts Word Meaning

late Middle English: from Latin actus ‘event, thing done’, act- ‘done’, from the verb agere, reinforced by the French noun acte

take action; do something

do something

• they urged Washington to act
• he denied the charges, claiming that he had acted in self-defence
• we must act to reduce pollution

behave in the way specified

behave

• they challenged a man who was seen acting suspiciously
• he acts as if he owned the place
• try to act like civilized adults

take effect; have a particular effect

have effect

• blood samples are analysed to find out how the drug acts in the body
• they should remove taxes that act to suppress demand

perform a role in a play, film, or television

perform role

• she acted in her first professional role at the age of six
• he acted the role of the king

a thing done; a deed

thing done

• a criminal act
• the act of writing down one's thoughts
• an act of heroism

a pretence

pretence

• she was putting on an act and laughing a lot

a written law passed by Parliament, Congress, etc.

law made by parliament

• the 1989 Children Act

a main division of a play, ballet, or opera

division of play etc.

• the first act