Action | Mean of action in English Dictionary

/ˈækʃən/

• Noun
• something that a person or group does
1. As its first official action [=act], the committee elected Ms. Jones as its president.
2. He was critical of the government's actions before the war.
3. a military action against another country
4. criminal/illegal actions
5. She tried to explain/defend/justify her actions.
6. I accept full responsibility for my actions.
7. The school has been asked to take certain actions to fix the problem.
8. This is just one of the many actions that they could have taken.
9. They say they want peace, but actions speak louder than words.
• things done to achieve a particular purpose
1. The situation demanded immediate action.
2. The problem may require military action.
3. The school took disciplinary action against the drunken students.
4. They decided that no further action was necessary.
5. We need to agree on a plan of action. [=need to agree on what we will be doing]
6. What's the best course of action? [=what's the best way to proceed?]
7. The protesters criticized the administration's lack of action [=inaction] on many issues.
8. We were ready to take action. [=to do something]
9. Because the company failed to take action [=failed to act], many people were hurt.
10. The company took no action.
11. The police are now taking appropriate action.
12. She's all talk and no action. [=she says that she will do things, but she does not do them]
13. He was a scholar and thinker but was also a man of action.
• fighting that happens in a war
1. His unit first saw action [=fought in a battle] on June 20th.
2. soldiers who were killed or wounded in action [=in battle]
3. soldiers who are missing in action [=soldiers who cannot be found after a battle and might have been killed, captured, or wounded]

• the most exciting or interesting activities that are happening in a particular place
1. The new theater places the audience closer to the center/middle of the action.
2. I moved to New York City to be (a) part of the action.
3. Downtown is where the action is. [=downtown is a very active and exciting place]
• a chance or opportunity to make money
1. Do any of you guys want to get in on the action? [=participate in a plan to make money]
2. He saw that his friends were making money illegally, and he wanted to get a piece of the action.
• sexual activity
1. I met a girl who was ready for some action.
• the events that happen in a story, movie, etc.
1. Most of the play's action takes place in a restaurant.
2. the action [=plot] of the novel
• events that happen quickly and that cause feelings of danger and excitement
1. The movie is two hours of nonstop action. [=excitement]
2. We went out looking for action.
3. That's when the action really starts.
4. action movies
5. the film's final action sequence
• the process of having a court of law make a decision about an argument
1. The court dismissed the action. [=case, lawsuit]
2. She brought/filed an action against the company for damages.
3. civil actions [=lawsuits about a person's rights]
4. They are threatening/considering legal action.
5. bringing/taking action against companies for damages
• a process in which one thing causes a change in another thing
1. the action [=effect] of certain chemicals on the brain
2. The medicine blocks the action of these proteins. [=it stops the proteins from working]
3. The cave was formed by the action of an underground river.
• the way that something works or moves
1. Food is swallowed by the action of the tongue.
2. the action of the heart
3. the mechanical action of a pulley
4. the drill's twisting action
5. a single-action revolver
6. The gears meshed with a smooth action.
• in the act of doing something
1. We came to the court to see our country's judicial system in action. [=at work]
2. The fans have come to see their favorite players in action.
3. After a two year break from baseball, he's finally back in action. [=he's playing baseball again]
• to an active state
1. They had already put the plan into action. [=started using the plan]
2. Firefighters are ready to leap/spring/swing into action [=quickly start working] at a moment's notice.
3. As a doctor, she can be called into action at any time of the day.
4. Our military unit was called into action at the start of the war.
• unable to perform a usual job or function
1. He broke his leg and the doctors say that he'll be out of action [=out of commission] for at least a month.
2. His broken leg will put/keep him out of action for at least a month.