- (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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). action. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/action/definitions/1970692 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "action" http://smartdefine.org/action/definitions/1970692 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, action, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/action/definitions/1970692>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "action" 27 May 2011. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/action/definitions/1970692> |