Idioms for act

Origin of act

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English act(e) (from Middle French), from Latin ācta, plural of āctum “something done,” noun use of past participle of agere “to do” ( āg- past participle stem + -tum neuter past participle suffix); and directly from Latin āctus “a doing” ( āg- + -tus suffix of verbal action)

synonym study for act

1. See action.

OTHER WORDS FROM act

British Dictionary definitions for act up (1 of 4)

act up

verb

(intr, adverb) informal to behave in a troublesome way the engine began to act up when we were miles from anywhere

British Dictionary definitions for act up (2 of 4)

ACT 1

abbreviation for

Australian Capital Territory
(formerly in Britain) advance corporation tax

British Dictionary definitions for act up (3 of 4)

ACT 2
/ (ækt) /

n acronym for

(in New Zealand) Association of Consumers and Taxpayers: a small political party of the right

British Dictionary definitions for act up (4 of 4)

act
/ (ækt) /

noun

verb

See also act on, act out, act up

Derived forms of act

actable, adjective actability, noun

Word Origin for act

C14: from Latin actus a doing, performance, and actum a thing done, from the past participle of agere to do

Idioms and Phrases with act up (1 of 2)

act up

1

Misbehave. For example, With an inexperienced rider, this horse always acts up. [c. 1900]

2

Malfunction, as in I'm not sure what's wrong with my car, but the transmission is acting up. In both usages up means “abnormally.”

Idioms and Phrases with act up (2 of 2)

act