Tra từ act - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

act [act acts acted acting] noun, verb BrE [ækt] NAmE [ækt]
noun

STH THAT SB DOES
1. countable a particular thing that sb does
•a criminal act
•~ of sth an act of kindness
•acts of terrorism
•~ of sb The murder was the act of a psychopath.

LAW
2. countable a law that has been passed by a parliament
•an Act of Congress
•the Banking Act 2009
• A Committee on Safety of Medicines was set up under the Act.

PRETENDING
3. singular a way of behaving that is not sincere but is intended to have a particular effect on others
• Don't take her seriously— it's all an act.
• You could tell she was just putting on an act.

IN PLAY/ENTERTAINMENT
4. countable one of the main divisions of a play, an ↑opera, etc
•a play in five acts
•The hero dies in Act 5, Scene 3.
5. countable one of several short pieces of entertainment in a show
•a circus/comedy/magic act
6. countable a performer or group of musicians
•They were one of rock's most impressive live acts.
more at clean up your act at ↑clean _v., read (sb) the Riot Act at ↑read _v.

Word Origin:
late Middle English: from Latin actus ‘event, thing done’, act- ‘done’, from the verb agere, reinforced by the French noun acte.

Thesaurus:
act noun
1. C
•an act of kindness
action • • gesture • • move • • step • • measure • |formal deed •
a/an act/action/gesture/move/step/measure/deed by sb
an kind/charitable/generous act/action/gesture/deed
do/perform a/an act/action/deed
2. C
•Don't believe her— it's all an act.
front • • mask • • cover • |BrE pretence • |AmE pretense •
put on a/an act/front/mask/pretence
keep up a/an act/front/pretence

Synonyms:
action
measure • step • act • move
These are all words for a thing that sb does.
action • a thing that sb does: ▪ Her quick action saved the child's life.
measure • an official action that is done in order to achieve a particular aim: ▪ Tougher measures against racism are needed.
step • one of a series of things that you do in order to achieve sth: ▪ This was a first step towards a united Europe.
act • a thing that sb does: ▪ an act of kindness
action or act?
These two words have the same meaning but are used in different patterns. An act is usually followed by of and/or used with an adjective. Action is not usually used with of but is often used with his, her, etc.: ▪ a heroic act of bravery ◇ a heroic action of bravery ◇ ▪ his heroic actions/acts during the war. Action often combines with take but act does not: We shall take whatever acts are necessary.
move • (used especially in journalism) an action that you do or need to do to achieve sth: ▪ They are waiting for the results of the opinion polls before deciding their next move.
to take action/measures/steps
to make a step/move
a heroic/brave/daring action/step/act/move

Example Bank:
•For Jane, the act of writing was always difficult.
•He does a little novelty act.
•He does a little song-and-dance act.
•He was arrested on suspicion of planning terrorist acts.
•He was caught in the act of stealing.
•He was charged under the Firearms Act of 1977.
•I have to work on my act.
•The 1995 act applies only to food and not to dietary supplements.
•The Act contains regulations for banks and building societies.
•The Act was passed by a majority of 175 votes to 143.
•The UN must perform a difficult balancing act between the two sides in the conflict.
•The cat had done a disappearing act.
•The club offers live music and cabaret acts.
•The company had breached the 1994 Companies Act.
•The company had violated the Data Security Act of 2006.
•The company says that the explosion was no accident but a deliberate act of sabotage.
•The group is merely a novelty act.
•The king is killed in the opening act.
•The main act will come on at about ten o'clock.
•The new Children's Act will become law next year.
•The old Act has now been repealed.
•The very act of writing out your plan clarifies what you need to do.
•Their contribution will prove a hard act to follow.
•Their new player looks a class act.
•a heroic act of bravery
•a private act of revenge
•charged with committing an act of gross indecency
•comedy double act French and Saunders
•horrific acts of violence
•images of African Americans performing heroic acts
•their reputation as one of rock's most impressive live acts
•A Committee on Safety was set up under the Act.
•Don't take her seriously— it's all an act.
•The children in the audience had come to see the magic act.
•The show includes clowns and other circus acts.
•This was one of the most appalling acts of terrorism of recent times.
•You could tell she was just putting on an act.
•You have committed a serious criminal act.
•an Act of Parliament/Congress
•an act of kindness/generosity/love/aggression/desperation
•his heroic actions/acts during the war
•the Higher Education Act 1965
Idioms: ↑act of God ▪ ↑do, perform, stage a vanishing act ▪ ↑get your act together ▪ ↑hard act to follow ▪ in on the act ▪ ↑in the act
Derived: ↑act on behalf of somebody ▪ ↑act on something ▪ ↑act something out ▪ ↑act up

verb

DO STH
1. intransitive to do sth for a particular purpose or in order to deal with a situation
• It is vital that we act to stop the destruction of the rainforests.
• The girl's life was saved because the doctors acted so promptly.
•He claims he acted in self-defence.

BEHAVE
2. intransitive to behave in a particular way
•+ adv. John's been acting very strangely lately.
•~ like sb/sth Stop acting like spoilt children!
•~ as if/though… She was acting as if she'd seen a ghost. In spoken English people often use like instead of as if or as though in this meaning, especially in NAmE
•She was acting like she'd seen a ghost. This is not considered correct in written BrE.

PRETEND
3. intransitive to pretend by your behaviour to be a particular type of person
•+ noun He's been acting the devoted husband all day.
•+ adj. I decided to act dumb.
•He acts all macho, but he's a real softie underneath.

PERFORM IN PLAY/MOVIE
4. intransitive, transitive to perform a part in a play or film/movie
• Have you ever acted?
• Most of the cast act well.
•~ sth Who's acting (the part of) Hamlet?
•The play was well acted.

PERFORM FUNCTION
5. intransitive to perform a particular role or function
•~ as sth Can you act as interpreter?
•A five-year sentence should act as a deterrent to others.
•~ like sth hormones in the brain that act like natural painkillers

HAVE EFFECT
6. intransitive ~ (on sth) to have an effect on sth
•Alcohol acts quickly on the brain.
•It took a few minutes for the drug to act.
see be/act your age at ↑age _n., act/play the fool at ↑fool _n., behave/act as if you own the place at ↑own _v.
Verb forms:

Word Origin:
late Middle English: from Latin actus ‘event, thing done’, act- ‘done’, from the verb agere, reinforced by the French noun acte.

Thesaurus:
act verb
1. I
•They had to act quickly to save the girl's life.
especially journalism take action • • move • |especially spoken do something • |especially written take steps •
act/take action/move/take steps against sb/sth
act/take action/move/do something/take steps to do sth
2. I
•Ben's been acting very strangely.
behave • • treat • |formal conduct yourself •
act/behave/treat sb as if/though/like…
act/behave/treat sb/conduct yourself properly
act/behave/treat sb reasonably/accordingly/differently/with dignity
Act or behave? Behave is used to talk about how well sb has behaved, but not how fairly or legally:
•behave well/sensibly
✗ behave unfairly/illegally Act is used to talk about how sensibly, fairly or legally sb has behaved, but not how well:
•act fairly/unlawfully
✗ act well/badly
3. I
•I decided to act dumb.
pretend • |formal feign •
pretend/feign interest/indifference
4. I, T
•She is acting the role of Juliet.
play • • perform •
act/play/perform a role/part
act/perform in a play/show/production
act/play/perform sth well/together
Act or play? Play must take an object, but act can also be used without an object:
•He just can't act.
✗ He just can't play. A play or film is acted, not played:
•The film was well acted.
✗ The film was well played.

Example Bank:
•All citizens have a duty to act responsibly and show respect to others.
•George knew about the letter and acted accordingly.
•His defence was that he had acted in good faith.
•His lawyers are continuing to act for him.
•I suspected that he was acting out of malice.
•Jenny has been acting rather strangely recently.
•She is acting the role of Juliet.
•She was acting as if she owned the place.
•Stop acting like a spoiled child.
•The country's highest court ruled that police had acted unlawfully.
•The government must act promptly to change this law.
•The government needs to act against the sale of these dangerous toys.
•The government was criticized for failing to act decisively.
•The jury accepted that he had acted in self defence.
•The play is well acted.
•We are all acting in the best interests of the children.
•A five-year sentence should act as a deterrent to others.
•He acts all macho but he's a real softie underneath.
•He just can't act.
•He's been acting the devoted husband all day.
•I found myself acting the part of the happy newly-married wife.
•It is vital that we act to stop the destruction of the rainforests.
•John's been acting very strangely lately.
•Most of these drugs acted directly on the blood vessels.
•Nuclear and non-nuclear matter act on each other.
•She was acting as if she'd seen a ghost.
•The bacteria act on sugars to form acids.
•The girl's life was saved because the doctors acted so promptly.
•They acted at once/immediately/promptly/quickly/swiftly.
•We need to understand the forces that act on the spine.
•You acted very wisely in coming to me.
•to act wisely/out of character/fairly/unlawfully