act
To do something for a reason or because of a situation.
To perform an action, especially deliberately, to achieve a result or respond to a situation.
To play a role in a movie, TV show, or play.
To portray a character in a play, film, television show, or other performance.
A law made by the government and written down officially.
A formal written law passed by a legislative body.
One thing that a person does, often judged as good or bad.
A single deed, especially one that has moral or legal importance.
A main part of a play or show, usually with several scenes.
One of the main divisions of a play, opera, or other performance.
- Base: act
- 3rd Person Singular: acts
- Present Participle: acting
- Past: acted
act on
1Take action based on advice/info
To do something because of advice, information, or instructions you got.
- The police acted on the tip they received.
- She is acting on her doctor’s advice.
act out
1Perform or express through actions
To show something by acting it like in a play, or to show feelings by behaving badly instead of talking about them.
- The students acted out the story in class.
- He’s been acting out since his parents divorced.
act up
1Misbehave or malfunction
To not work properly or to behave badly.
- My car is acting up again and won’t start.
- The children started acting up during dinner.
catch someone in the act
1See someone doing wrong thing
To see someone doing something bad or illegal at the moment it happens.
- The police caught him in the act of stealing the car.
- I caught her in the act of cheating on the test.
get your act together
1Organize and improve behavior/work
To become organized and start working well or behaving correctly.
- If you want to pass the exam, you need to get your act together.
- He finally got his act together and found a job.