1.noun
The fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim.
- 'strike action was threatened'
- 'Elections are the paramount means for influencing governmental action.'
- 'As with all security audits, should the results require remedial action, such actions will be taken.'
- 'If so, it is important to know your rights and how to take action against unfair work practices.'
- 'Assuming that the figures are an effective measure of overall hospital performance, what action should then follow?'
- 'I know that some have argued that we should take action to achieve a very much smaller population.'
- 'I did in fact take action at that time on advice from officials to address these concerns.'
- 'She said emissions to air, waste management and water eutrophication required urgent action.'
- 'People need to write their Congressmen about this and demand the Army take action.'
- 'But the speech had had the desired effect: public health action had finally been galvanised.'
- 'What can be done about it and what effects will any action have on the rest of the economy and the environment?'
- 'Prevent major spills which can form a hard glaze and destroy the chemical oxidizing action.'
- 'The Hox genes exert this influence by their action on the genes controlling the development of these structures.'
- 'This effect could be the consequence of the anti-proliferative action of glucocorticoids.'
- 'Syrup alone may act as a demulcent and provide antitussive action without side effects.'
- 'That very specificity of chemical action is often a highly prized medicinal property.'
- 'The tetrodo-toxin produced has a selective blocking effect on nerve action potentials.'
- 'I think the chemical action of light is to be regarded in this way.'
- 'the rank and file want to call the action off'
- 'The apparent rejection of collective action has lead to trade union membership remaining low.'
- 'The action began on May 18 when 800 staff walked off the job in Watford in south England.'
- 'Refusing to work or take on duties on health and safety grounds is not secondary action.'
- 'The unofficial action began at 8am when pickets were placed outside the station.'
- 'The Government responded by making it clear there were no plans to review the law on secondary action.'
- 'Their action began three weeks after the annual wage negotiations with the company reached a stalemate.'
- 'Pickets were to be out again at the Arndale on Friday of this week, the TUC's day of action to defend pensions.'
- 'The drivers took their second day of action on Thursday of last week with a solid 24 hour strike.'
- 'Nursery nurses claim the council has provoked the action by ignoring their arguments for an increase in their hourly rate.'
- 'A union is calling for a national day of action to protest at plans to increase the retirement age for civil servants.'
- 'It is set about two hundred years ago, at the time of the Napoleonic wars; the action takes place mostly in England.'
- 'An ability to penetrate the superficialities of the story and action to see the moral truths expressed therein.'
- 'Jackson is back for the sequel, playing the tough Security Agency head, and this time the action is set in Washington DC.'
- 'There isn't actually a lot of dramatic action happening - much of the story revolves around the psychology.'
- 'Time. Used to define the limits of the story and around which action is organized.'
- 'This film is closely inspired by and links to the story, characters and action of Driver 3.'
- 'the weekend sporting action begins on Saturday'
- 'Thankfully, that proved to be unfounded and we can continue to savour the prospect of some exciting action.'
- 'So a CEO has to spend time where the action is, or you're not going to get the true picture.'
- 'Well chapter 7 is done, and with it the first real action in the story so far, from my point of view at least.'
- 'The film is funny and exciting, with non-stop action and set pieces.'
- 'Excitement, glamour, exposure, top sporting action, cash by the barrow-load.'
- 'Things got off to a slow start but by mid afternoon there was non stop action.'
- 'My only criticism is that perhaps there could have been a little more exciting action.'
- 'At one level, the movie is about science fiction, kung fu, firearms and non-stop action.'
- 'Exciting racing action throughout the weekend in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia.'
- 'The second half was brimful of exciting action, even if the scoring returns were nothing to crow about.'
- 'lights, camera, action'
- 'I had to make a living and I wanted to get behind a camera and shout ‘action’.'
- 'Jayson pointed the camera, Eric called ‘Action’ and Chris ran with an expression of terror on his face.'
A thing done; an act.
- 'You alone are responsible for your own actions and behavior in life.'
- 'There comes a point where you have to take responsibility for your own actions.'
- 'Our group largely agreed but added that the police response to our actions would play a decisive role in how far things would escalate.'
- 'The book is a sustained diatribe questioning Churchill's actions from the early 1930s through 1941.'
- 'The wider issue is the question of the state's behaviour and whether its actions were responsible.'
- 'Notwithstanding his off-field actions, no one questions Carey's commitment to the concept of team.'
- 'But there is also a perceived need on the part of governments to build up a momentum in public opinion both to justify its actions and bury awkward questions.'
- 'It is not your responsibility to control their actions and behavior.'
- 'When will she take responsibility for her own actions?'
- 'Welcome to the real world people, a world of personal responsibility where actions can generate reactions.'
- 'his actions emphasized his words'
- 'Some levels will have you performing the same movements and actions for ten minutes only to get you to a room with no purpose.'
- 'But their movement and actions are depicted with expressiveness and drama.'
- 'They do not perform actions, and their movements and modifications are not caused by motives, for the simple reason that they have no minds with which to perceive.'
- 'No words, just clean efficient movement and actions.'
- 'This workshop was the first phase of a training programme in which the kids learnt how to create expressions, actions and movements of characters.'
- 'It's important to express our love through words and actions, kissing and hugging our children often.'
- 'His movements contradicted the others' actions, his steps were graceful and quiet like that of a doe.'
- 'He doesn't tend to speak, rather communicate in actions and gestures.'
- 'The actors, in their movements and actions, too remind one of theatrical expressions that are wholly Malayali in origin.'
- 'How was it possible for someone as dumb and arrogant as Heath to make me blush with a simple action or word?'
The way in which something works or moves.
- 'The tray slides along the rails in a very smooth action, and is held in place with four thumbscrews.'
- 'In 1855 he entered Nicaragua with a small band of mercenaries armed with a new type of quick-action rifle.'
- 'The heart's pumping action pushes the blood around the body through the arteries.'
- 'Most bolt actions will fit the cartridge without bolt modification and bullets up to .35 caliber can be fitted into some variation of the case.'
- 'He moved the slide action back and forth, checking that the movement was smooth enough to meet his satisfaction.'
Armed conflict.
- 'He saw early action in North Africa, where he was awarded a Military Cross and bar.'
- 'Casualties totaled 77,000 men, which included 8,000 killed in action, 48,000 wounded in action, and 21,000 as prisoners of war or missing in action.'
- 'Nevertheless, members of this camp believe that the onset of military action might give the market a lift.'
- 'Wayne's body has never been found, he is listed as missing in action, and presumed to be dead.'
- 'His father, a gifted poet who worked in a bank, was killed in action in France in 1917.'
- 'Military action, especially a Nato assault, must be the option of last resort.'
- 'In each case, only outside military action eventually ended Genocide.'
- 'Military action is but a single prong of a much larger and broader effort to halt the threat of terrorism.'
- 'They sought to wear down the adversary through harassing actions and protracted conflict.'
- 'But recent weeks have seen a resurgence of armed actions by government opponents.'
- 'We had been fighting a rearguard action across France, and we were 30 miles outside Dunkirk when the evacuation began on May 26th.'
- 'Third, normally blockade takes the form of systematic naval military actions.'
- 'Hawks hurriedly flew off to protect Paris but Paris was soon occupied and the Hawk pilots attempted to fight a rearguard action as they retreated from one base to another.'
- 'Further, subsequent military actions may depend on the effectiveness of a non-lethal attack.'
- 'The murkiness and chaos that attend armed conflict mean military actions are hardly immune to mistake.'
- 'However, other soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines die in combat actions, too.'
- 'It was the beginning of decades of military actions until the wars of independence ended in 1825.'
- 'This meant that they were part-time warriors and that spoils of war played a major role in military actions.'
Legal proceedings; a lawsuit.
- 'There's also a limit on how long after a wrongful act a civil action can be commenced.'
- 'The plaintiffs commenced an action in private law for recovery of the money due.'
- 'After his accident in the spring of 1988, Kenneth sued for damages in a civil action.'
- 'He will remain as a defendant and the action will proceed against him and the other three defendants.'
- 'Here, the contractor was the plaintiff and the owners were the defendants in a lien action.'
- 'The ability to make comparisons with damages awarded for non-pecuniary losses in personal injury actions would have a salutary effect on libel juries.'
- 'These costs can be recovered in a variety of ways: through fines, charges, or civil actions for damages.'
- 'The company says it has a strong case and intends to fight the action.'
- 'Judicial Watch has filed 92 lawsuits and legal actions against government officials.'
- 'The claimant brought an action for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.'
verb
Take action on; deal with.
- 'If you had a standard monthly payment for the same amount each month, then your request could be actioned.'
- 'However, initial thoughts are that a local merger could perhaps be actioned and would clearly simplify existing structures.'
- 'I have made numerous calls to the so called Help Line and nothing is ever actioned.'
- 'The letter was actioned by the Milton Keynes Council and endorsed accordingly 8th April 2002.'
- 'But, until the plan is actioned, there is still some Monday stretched out behind and ahead of me.'
- 'Both of these recommendations have been actioned.'
- 'However, for some reason, it was not allocated to a specific member of staff and he could not say why the instruction to update the records was not actioned.'
- 'That is why I actioned the share transfer of 6,250 shares.'
- 'While some comments were just plain amusing, the more serious ones had been actioned where possible by the management, or a note had been put in explaining why the suggestion could not be acted on.'
- 'The funding allows core programmes set up over the last 2 years to grow, and new initiatives to be actioned.'
((n.) 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.|--|(n.) An act; a thing done; a deed; an enterprise. (pl.):
Habitual deeds; hence, conduct; behavior; demeanor.|--|(n.) 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.|--|(n.) Movement; as, the horse has a spirited action.|--|(n.) Effective motion; also, mechanism; as, the breech action of
a gun.|--|(n.) 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.|--|(n.) Gesticulation; the external deportment of the speaker, or
the suiting of his attitude, voice, gestures, and countenance, to the
subject, or to the feelings.|--|(n.) The attitude or position of the several parts of the body
as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted.|--|(n.) 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.|--|(n.) A right of action; as, the law gives an action for every
claim.|--|(n.) A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or
in the public funds; hence, in the plural, equivalent to stocks.|--|(n.) An engagement between troops in war, whether on land or
water; a battle; a fight; as, a general action, a partial action.|--|(n.) 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.|--|)
noun
1.
the process or state of acting or of being active: The machine is not in action now.
2.
something done or performed; act; deed.
3.
an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity: a crisis that demands action instead of debate; hoping for constructive action by the landlord.
4.
actions, habitual or usual acts; conduct: He is responsible for his actions.
5.
energetic activity: a man of action.
6.
an exertion of power or force: the action of wind upon a ship's sails.
7.
effect or influence: the action of morphine.
8.
Physiology. a change in organs, tissues, or cells leading to performance of a function, as in muscular contraction.
9.
way or manner of moving: the action of a machine or of a horse.
10.
the mechanism by which something is operated, as that of a gun or a piano.
1
1.
a military encounter or engagement; battle, skirmish, or the like.
1
2.
actual engagement in fighting an enemy; military or naval combat: He saw action in Vietnam.
1
3.
Literature. the main subject or story, as distinguished from an incidental episode.
1
4.
Theater.
an event or series of events that form part of a dramatic plot: the action of a scene.
one of the three unities.Compare unity (def 8).
1
5.
the gestures or deportment of an actor or speaker.
1
6.
Fine Arts. the appearance of animation, movement, or emotion given to figures by their attitude, position, or expression.
1
7.
Law.
a proceeding instituted by one party against another.
the right of bringing it.
1
8.
Slang.
interesting or exciting activity, often of an illicit nature: He gave us some tips on where the action was.
gambling or the excitement of gambling: The casino usually offers plenty of action.
money bet in gambling, especially illegally.
1
9.
Ecclesiastical.
a religious ceremony, especially a Eucharistic service.
the canon of the Mass.
those parts of a service of worship in which the congregation participates.
adjective
20.
characterized by brisk or dynamic action: an action car; an action melodrama.
Idioms
2
1.
in action,
performing or taking part in a characteristic act: The school baseball team is in action tonight.
working; functioning: His rescuing the child was bravery in action.
2
2.
out of action, removed from action, as by sudden disability: The star halfback is out of action with a bad knee.
2
3.
piece of the action, Informal. a share of the proceeds or profits: Cut me in for a piece of the action.
2
4.
take action,
to start doing something: As soon as we get his decision, we'll take action.
to start a legal procedure.