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action

action

888 1.8
The main activity happening in a place or story
  • noun
  • /ˈækʃən/
translation icon : acción
  • The film was filled with thrilling action, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.
  • an action scene
  • characters' actions
  • an action story

Pay attention to someone's actions more than their words.

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Examples

  • Where's all the action this weekend?

  • I wanna check out the action, of course.

  • So the second one, so much action, so much happening.

  • Well, of course not all the action is at this jump.

  • I saw you in action.

  • I am at the center of the action.

  • Front-row seats, right in the action.

  • We don't know exactly what Pat did, so the action remains unknown.

  • Stanza A of part 2 sets the stage for the action that follows in Stanza B.

    Academic text (1999)
  • One example of this canon in action involves the interplay between state and federal arbitration law.

    Academic text (2017)

Synonyms

event
vsaction
1.0

A planned or important thing that happens at a particular time and place

is the main set of doings or happenings rather than one brief occurrence
plot
vsaction
215 2.5

The sequence of events that make up the main story

is broader and applies to main doings beyond narrative situations
storyline
vsaction
107 2.8

A series of events in a book, film, or play that form the main plot

is broader and covers main doings in places, situations, and narratives

Antonyms

39 4.9

Not doing anything when something should be done

Idioms

15 4.4

A share in an activity that may bring money or excitement

lost in action
  • Specialized
7.9

Missing during a battle with nobody knowing what happened to them

Taking part where an event is most active and intense

Act in the same way you say you will

Compounds

222 4.7

A plan to help groups treated unfairly get more chances in education or work

105 3.7

An action by soldiers that involves fighting

A plan of steps to reach a goal

legal action
  • Formal
42 3.8

A court process to solve a dispute when someone sues another

class action
  • Specialized
39 4.4

A lawsuit brought by some people for a larger group with similar claims

A group that raises and spends money to support political candidates or causes

A clear set of steps to reach a goal

11 4.2

A man who decides quickly and gets things done

direct action
  • Jargon
10 5.5

A protest where people act directly, for example by blocking a road or factory, to reach their goals

7 8.2

A set of facts that lets a person ask a court to fix a wrong

civil action
  • Formal
7 5.3

A legal case to get money or fix a private wrong, not a criminal case

A lawsuit started by one or more people for many others with the same problem

A quick move to avoid danger

police action
  • Jargon
3 7.6

A military operation done without declaring war to restore peace

A quick movement your body makes without thinking, for example pulling your hand from something hot

social action
  • Formal
1 4.2

A planned effort to change life in a community or improve people's living conditions

job action
  • Specialized
1 5.7

Temporary work protest by workers to demand better pay or conditions

capillary action
  • Specialized
1 5.8

Movement of liquid up thin tubes or spaces, like water rising in a plant stem

action potential
  • Specialized
1 5.2

A quick change in electric charge across a cell membrane that carries a signal along nerve or muscle cells

A defensive action to protect an army that is retreating or delay an enemy

1 8.4

A legal right to take someone to court

action painting
  • Specialized
1 7.1

A style of abstract painting where the artist moves and applies paint in big, energetic movements

1 7.7

A person in the military or intelligence who carries out a secret task

1 4.1

Every push or pull makes an equal force in the opposite direction

pump action
  • Specialized
1 6.3

A sliding lever on a shotgun or rifle that loads a new round when you move it back and forth

1 7.9

Someone directly involved in a court case, as plaintiff or defendant

A person or event that makes people act and speeds up change

chemical action
  • Specialized
3.5

A process in which substances change into new substances, for example rusting or cooking

A camera setting that waits before taking a photo so you can join the picture

action at law
  • Formal
7.9

A case where one person takes another to court to get or protect a right

action mechanism
  • Specialized
6.3

The mechanical part of a device that makes parts move, like in a piano or toy

action plant
  • Indian
9.3

A tropical plant whose small leaves fold quickly when touched or at night

action spectrum
  • Specialized
8.2

A graph showing which colours of light cause a reaction

A short video showing a recent play again, often during sports events

law of mass action
  • Specialized
6.0

The speed of a chemical reaction depends on the amounts of the substances that react

mass action
  • Specialized
8.8

Large areas of the brain work together for complex tasks

mass-action principle
  • Specialized
9.8

A theory that large areas of the brain work together for complex tasks

An action done together by several people to reach the same goal

piano action
  • Specialized
5.8

The levers and parts inside a piano that make hammers hit strings when you press a key

A place where a sports event happens, like a field or stadium

slide action
  • Specialized
8.1

A part of a shotgun you move back and forth to eject and load shells for the next shot

How Eventful

climax
38 3.7
action
888 1.8
incident
2.7
happening
19 3.4
quiet
45 1.0
stillness
38 3.5

Surface Forms

action singular
actions plural

Morphology

action = act (transparent) = act + ion

The sense 'main activity or events' is a straightforward extension of 'act' meaning 'what is done', which learners can infer.

Etymology

Action comes from old Latin agere 'to do', the same root as act and actor, so the 'action' in a place or story is where people are 'doing' things and the main events happen.