Definition of action:

• When a party in court exercises its legal rights by means of writ.
• the state of being active; " his sphere of activity"; " he is out of action"
• a military engagement; " he saw action in Korea"
• a judicial proceeding brought by one party against another; one party prosecutes another for a wrong done or for protection of a right or for prevention of a wrong
• an act by a government body or supranational organization; " recent federal action undermined the segregationist position"; " the United Nations must have the power to propose and organize action without being hobbled by irrelevant issues"; " the Union action of emancipating Southern slaves"
• the trait of being active and energetic and forceful; " a man of action"
• the series of events that form a plot; " his novels always have a lot of action"
• a process existing in or produced by nature ( rather than by the intent of human beings); " the action of natural forces"; " volcanic activity"
• put in effect; " carry out a task"; " execute the decision of the people"; " He actioned the operation"
• 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.
• An act; a thing done; a deed; an enterprise. ( pl.): Habitual deeds; hence, conduct; behavior; demeanor.
• 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.
• Movement; as, the horse has a spirited action.
• Effective motion; also, mechanism; as, the breech action of a gun.
• 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.
• Gesticulation; the external deportment of the speaker, or the suiting of his attitude, voice, gestures, and countenance, to the subject, or to the feelings.
• 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.
• A right of action; as, the law gives an action for every claim.
• A share in the capital stock of a joint- stock company, or in the public funds; hence, in the plural, equivalent to stocks.
• An engagement between troops in war, whether on land or water; a battle; a fight; as, a general action, a partial action.
• 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.
• Another term for a lawsuit. For example, a plaintiff might say, " I began this negligence action last fall after the defendant, Ms. Adams, struck me while I was crossing the street at Elm and Main."
• The state of being in motion, as opposed to that of being at rest; the doing of something; the effect of one body or substance upon another; only when singular; something done; conduct; behavior: only when plural; a suit begun by one party against another in a court of law; effective motion, as of machinery; a military or naval engagement.
• 1. The performance of any of the vital functions, the manner of such performance, or the result of the same. 2. The exertion of any force or power, physical, chemical, or mental.
• The work of a function; a morbid process.
• A state of acting: a deed: operation: gesture: a battle: a lawsuit.
• A deed; operation; gesture; a battle; a lawsuit.
• The process or mode of acting; operation; activity.
• The thing done; deed; a battle; lawsuit.
• The state of acting or being active; operation; a deed; conduct; behaviour; gesture in speaking; an engagement between troops of war. A suit or process in the form of claim. The normal or abnormal performance of the function of an organ. The series of events in a piece, called also the subject or fable. The attitude or position of the several parts of the body in a work of art, as expressive of passion. In France, action is a share in the capital stock of a company, equivalent to our term share.
• The state of acting or moving; force exerted by one body on another; a deed; a battle.

Usage examples for action

1. When that boy gets angry, he wants action.  The Radio Boys with the Revenue Guards by Gerald Breckenridge

2. I am a man of action still.  The Slave Of The Lamp by Henry Seton Merriman

3. Piece number one out of action.  "And they thought we wouldn't fight" by Floyd Gibbons