Meaning of 'action' (Webster Dictionary)
- 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.
- An act; a thing done; a deed; an enterprise. (pl.):
Habitual deeds; hence, conduct; behavior; demeanor.
- 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.
- Movement; as, the horse has a spirited action.
- Effective motion; also, mechanism; as, the breech action of
a gun.
- 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.
- Gesticulation; the external deportment of the speaker, or
the suiting of his attitude, voice, gestures, and countenance, to the
subject, or to the feelings.
- The attitude or position of the several parts of the body
as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted.
- 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.
- A right of action; as, the law gives an action for every
claim.
- A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or
in the public funds; hence, in the plural, equivalent to stocks.
- An engagement between troops in war, whether on land or
water; a battle; a fight; as, a general action, a partial action.
- 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.
Meaning of 'action' (Princeton's WordNet)
Meaning (1):
- the trait of being active and energetic and forceful
Meaning (2):
- the most important or interesting work or activity in a specific area or field
Example in sentence:- gawkers always try to get as close to the action as possible;
- the action is no longer in technology stocks but in municipal bonds
Meaning (3):
- the state of being active
Example in sentence:- he is out of action;
- his sphere of activity
Meaning (4):
- a military engagement
Meaning (5):
- the series of events that form a plot
Example in sentence:- his novels always have a lot of action
Meaning (6):
- an act by a government body or supranational organization
Example in sentence:- recent federal action undermined the segregationist position;
- the Union action of emancipating Southern slaves;
- the United Nations must have the power to propose and organize action without being hobbled by irrelevant issues
Meaning (7):
- a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings)
Example in sentence:- the action of natural forces;
- volcanic activity
Meaning (8):
- the operating part that transmits power to a mechanism
Example in sentence:- the piano had a very stiff action
Meaning (9):
- something done (usually as opposed to something said)
Example in sentence:- there were stories of murders and other unnatural actions
Meaning (10):
- put in effect
Example in sentence:- carry out a task;
- execute the decision of the people;
- He actioned the operation
Meaning (11):
- institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against
Example in sentence:- He was warned that the district attorney would process him;
- She actioned the company for discrimination
Definition
[ n.]