act
verb
uk
/ækt/ us
/ækt/act verb (BEHAVE)
He acted as if he'd never met me before.
- behaveThe kids behaved well at grandma’s yesterday.
- behavePeople behave differently when they can provide feedback anonymously.
- actTwo men were acting suspiciously in the car park.
- conduct yourselfCaptain Bingham has conducted himself in a manner unbecoming to an officer.
- comport yourselfShe comported herself with great dignity at her husband's funeral.
- When he saw the crash, the young boy acted very responsibly and called the police.
- Try to act confidently, even if you feel nervous.
act verb (DO SOMETHING)
B2 [ I ]
[ + to infinitive ] Engineers acted quickly to repair the damaged pipes.
act for Who is acting for the defendant?
act on behalf of The agent was acting on behalf of (= representing) her client, a Broadway actress.
She acted without thinking.
- take actionIt may already be too late to take action to prevent the loss of habitat these animals face.
- actThey need to act decisively to prevent further damage to crops.
- take measuresWe call on the government to take the necessary measures to bring to justice those responsible for this attack.
- take stepsThe authorities have taken steps to prevent any reoccurrence of the problem.
- do somethingIt's about time the government did something about it.
act verb (HAVE AN EFFECT)
- across-the-board
- affect
- applicability
- be/fall under someone's influence/spell idiom
- bear on something phrasal verb
- bearing
- conflict
- ear
- influential
- influential in something/doing something
- influentially
- inroad
- inspiration
- rail
- remould
- reverberative
- run away with someone phrasal verb
- shapeable
- sphere of influence
- spin
act verb (PERFORM)
B1 [ I or T ]
- The whole play was appallingly acted.
Phrasal verbs
act
noun
uk
/ækt/ us
/ækt/act noun (THING DONE)
B2 [ C ]
something that you do:
an act of aggression/bravery/madness/terrorism
a kind/thoughtless/selfish act
- actionYou should take responsibility for your own actions.
- actThis was considered to be an act of war.
- thingThat’s the last thing you should be doing if you’re pregnant.
- activityNot all of her business activities were scrupulously clean.
- moveApplying for that job was a good move.
- deedTheir evil deeds must not go unpunished.
- His murder was an outrageous and barbarous act.
- The word 'flight' has two different meanings: a plane journey, and the act of running away.
- The law specifically forbids acts of this kind.
- The George Cross is awarded to British civilians for acts of great bravery.
- It was an act of extraordinary irresponsibility to leave someone who wasn't properly trained in charge of the machine.
act noun (PERFORMANCE)
Was she really upset or was that just an act?
- The main characters are offstage for most of the second act.
- The best part of his stage act was a brilliant Elvis Presley impression.
- I saw the worst comedy act I've ever seen last night - it was absolutely dreadful!
- He put on an act of bravery, but I know that he was absolutely terrified.
- They may seem to be very polite and friendly, but it's only an act.
- a wolf in sheep's clothing idiom
- affect
- air guitar
- assume
- believe
- bluff someone into something/doing something
- changeling
- cry
- false identity
- false modesty
- false name
- falsifiable
- falsify
- out-bluff
- pass something off as something phrasal verb
- phoney
- phony-baloney
- play at something phrasal verb
- quackery
- you can't kid a kidder idiom
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
