action

Etymology

From Middle English accion, from Old French aucion, acciun, from Latin āctiō (“act of doing or making”), from āctus + action suffix -iō, perfect passive participle of agere (“do, act”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti; see also act, active. Morphologically act + -ion.

noun

1. The effort of performing or doing something.
2. Something done, often so as to accomplish a purpose.
3. A way of motion or functioning.
   Knead bread with a rocking action.
4. Fast-paced activity.
   a movie full of exciting action
5. The way in which a mechanical device acts when used; especially a firearm.
   pressing a piano key causes the action of the hammer on the string
   1. (firearms) The way in which cartridges are loaded, locked, and extracted from the mechanism.
      pump action shotgun
6. (music) The mechanism, that is the set of moving mechanical parts, of a keyboard instrument, like a piano, which transfers the motion of the key to the sound-making device.
7. (music, lutherie) The distance separating the strings and the fretboard on a guitar or other string instrument.
8. (slang, typically with a quantifier) Sexual intercourse.
   She gave him some action.
   I hope to get a bit of action with the hot guy from the club.
9. (military) Combat.
   He saw some action in the Korean War.
10. (law) A charge or other process in a law court (also called lawsuit and actio).
11. (mathematics) A mapping from a pairing of mathematical objects to one of them, respecting their individual structures. The pairing is typically a Cartesian product or a tensor product. The object that is not part of the output is said to act on the other object. In any given context, action is used as an abbreviation for a more fully named notion, like group action or left group action.
12. (physics) The product of energy and time, especially the product of the Lagrangian and time.
13. 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.
14. (art, painting and sculpture) The attitude or position of the several parts of the body as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted.
15. (bowling) spin put on the bowling ball.
16. (obsolete) A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or in the public funds.
17. (religion) A religious performance or solemn function, i.e. action sermon, a sacramental sermon in the Scots Presbyterian Church.
    The Action Sermon is quite simply, then, the eucharistic sermon. 2008, Duncan B. Forrester, Doug Gay, Worship and Liturgy in Context, scm Press, page 88
18. (sciences) a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings).

intj

1. Demanding or signifying the start of something, usually a performance.
   The director yelled ‘Action!’ after the cameras started rolling.

adj

1. (Manglish) arrogant

verb

1. (transitive, management) To act on a request etc, in order to put it into effect.
   ‘Here, give me the minutes of Monday’s meeting. I’ll action your points for you while you get on and sort out the open day.’ 2004, Ros Jay, Richard Templar, “Fast thinking: project”, in Fast Thinking Manager's Manual, 2nd edition, Pearson Education, Fast Thinking Leader, page 276
   Violent reactions from the Jewish authorities were expected and difficulties of actioning the new guidelines were foreseen. 2005, Fritz Liebreich, “The physical confrontation: interception and diversion policies in theory and practice”, in Britain's Navel and Political Reaction to the Illegal Immigration of Jews to Palestine, 1945-1948, Routledge, page 196
   HMRC said that one reason they had not actioned her appeal was because she had said in her appeal form ‘I am appealing against the overpayment for childcare for 2003-04, 2004-05’, thus implying she was disputing her ‘overpayment’. 2007, Great Britain: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, “Case study: 11257”, in Tax Credits: Getting it wrong? 5th report session 2006-2007, The Stationery Office, Chapter 2: Changes and developments since June 2005, page 26
2. (transitive, chiefly archaic) To initiate a legal action against someone.
   ‘I have no business to settle with you—arrest me, Sir, at your peril and I’ll action you in law for false imprisonment.’ 1856, Thomas Chandler Haliburton, The Attaché: or Sam Slick in England, new revised edition, Stringer & Townsend, Chapter XLVII: The Horse Stealer; or All Trades Have Tricks But Our Own, page 270
   Scrip threatened me at first with an action for slander—he spoke of actions to the wrong man though—action! no, no no. I should have actioned him—ha! ha! … 1844, Robert Mackenzie Daniel, The Grave Digger: A novel by the author of The Scottish Heiress, volume I, T. C. Newby, Chapter IX: How the Grave-differ entertained a lady, pages 189–190
   I have actioned him for Libel, but he won’t plead, and says he will make himself bankrupt & won’t pay a penny. 1871, Michael Shermer, quoting Alfred Russell Wallace, In Darwin’s shadow: The Life and Science of Alfred Russell Wallace, Oxford University Press US, published 2002, Chapter 10. Heretic Personality, page 261
   In 1589 the Court went so far as to effect a reconciliation between Michel le Petevin and his wife after she actioned him for ill treatment and adultery with their chambermaid. 1996, Darryl Mark Ogier, “Discipline: Enforcement”, in Reformation and Society in Guernsey, Boydell & Brewer, Part Two: The Calvinist Regime, page 148