act | definition in the Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary

Definition of act – Learner’s Dictionary

act
verb
uk
/ækt/ us

act verb (BEHAVE)

Add to word list Add to word list
B1
to behave in a particular way:
to act responsibly
Jeff's been acting strangely recently.
Stop acting like a child!

act verb (DO SOMETHING)

B2
to do something, especially in order to solve a problem:
We have to act now to stop the spread of this disease.
More examplesFewer examples

act verb (PERFORM)

B1
to perform in a play or film:
He's acted in a number of successful Hollywood films.

Phrasal verbs

act as sth
act sth out
act up
act
noun
uk
/ækt/ us

act noun (DO)

B2
something that someone does:
an act of terrorism/kindness

act noun (LAW)

a law made by a government:
an act of Congress/Parliament

act noun (THEATRE)

B1
one of the parts a play is divided into:
Her character doesn't appear until Act 2.

act noun (PERFORMERS)

one or several performers who perform for a short while in a show:
a comedy double act

act noun (FALSE BEHAVIOUR)

behaviour that hides your real feelings or intentions:
Was she really upset or was that just an act?
 in the act (of doing sth)
doing something wrong:
I caught him in the act of opening one of my letters.

Idioms

get your act together
get in on the act
(Definition of act from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Translations of act

in Chinese (Traditional)
行為，行事, 舉止，表現, 做某事…
See more
in Chinese (Simplified)
行为，行事, 举止，表现, 做某事…
See more
in Spanish
comportarse, actuar, acto…
See more
in Portuguese
comportar-se, agir, atuar…
See more
in more languages
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
in Arabic
in Czech
in Danish
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Korean
in Ukrainian
in Italian
in Russian
（～のように）ふるまう, （芝居や映画で）演じる, 演技をする…
See more
davranış göstermek, harekette bulunmak, bir problemi çözmede girişimde bulunmak…
See more
acte [masculine], comédie [feminine], numéro [masculine]…
See more
comportar-se, actuar, acte…
See more
optreden, zich gedragen, acteren…
See more
يَعمَل, يَفعَل, يُمَثِّل…
See more
jednat, konat, chovat se…
See more
handle, foretage sig noget, opføre sig…
See more
bertindak, berlaku, berbuat…
See more
ปฏิบัติ, ปฏิบัติตัว, แสดง…
See more
hành động, cư xử, diễn xuất…
See more
zachowywać się, działać, grać…
See more
mengambil tindakan, berkelakuan, berlakon…
See more
handeln, sich verhalten, spielen…
See more
handling [masculine], gjerning [masculine], skuespill [neuter]…
See more
행동하다, 연기하다, (문제 등을 해결하기 위해) 행동을 취하다…
See more
діяти, працювати, поводитися…
See more
comportarsi, recitare, agire…
See more
вести себя, действовать, играть (роль)…
See more
Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool
 

Browse

acronym
across
across the board idiom
acrylic
act
act as sth
act sth out
act up
acting

Word of the Day

team spirit

UK
/ˌtiːm ˈspɪr.ɪt/
US
/ˌtiːm ˈspɪr.ət/

a feeling of belonging together that the members of a group have towards others in the group

About this

Blog

A flash in the pan (Newspaper idioms)

New Words

global boiling

More new words
has been added to list
To top
Contents
Learner’s DictionaryTranslations
English (US)   Change
English (UK) English (US) Español Español (Latinoamérica) Русский Português Deutsch Français Italiano 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Polski 한국어 Türkçe 日本語 Tiếng Việt हिंदी
Follow us
Choose a dictionary
  • Recent and Recommended
  • Definitions
    Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English
    English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
  • Grammar and thesaurus
    Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English
    Grammar Thesaurus
  • Pronunciation
    British and American pronunciations with audio
    English Pronunciation
  • Translation
    Click on the arrows to change the translation direction.
    Bilingual Dictionaries
    • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
    • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
    • English–Dutch Dutch–English
    • English–French French–English
    • English–German German–English
    • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
    • English–Italian Italian–English
    • English–Japanese Japanese–English
    • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
    • English–Polish Polish–English
    • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
    • English–Spanish Spanish–English
    Semi-bilingual Dictionaries
    English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Danish English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Vietnamese
  • Dictionary +Plus
    Word Lists
Contents
My word lists

Add act to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

More
Go to your word lists
Tell us about this example sentence: