Definition of action. Meaning of action. Synonyms of action

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Definition of action

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Abaction
Abaction Ab*ac"tion ([a^]b*[a^]k"sh[u^]n), n. Stealing cattle on a large scale. [Obs.]
Abreaction
Abreaction Ab`re*ac"tion, n. [Pref. ab- + reaction, after G. Abreagirung.] (Psychotherapy) See Catharsis, below.
Abstractional
Abstractional Ab*strac"tion*al, a. Pertaining to abstraction.
Abstractionist
Abstractionist Ab*strac"tion*ist, n. An idealist. --Emerson.
Actionable
Actionable Ac"tion*a*ble, a. [Cf. LL. actionabilis. See Action.] That may be the subject of an action or suit at law; as, to call a man a thief is actionable.
Actionably
Actionably Ac"tion*a*bly, adv. In an actionable manner.
Actionary
Actionary Ac"tion*a*ry, Actionist Ac"tion*ist, n. [Cf. F. actionnaire.] (Com.) A shareholder in joint-stock company. [Obs.]
Actionist
Actionary Ac"tion*a*ry, Actionist Ac"tion*ist, n. [Cf. F. actionnaire.] (Com.) A shareholder in joint-stock company. [Obs.]
Actionless
Actionless Ac"tion*less, a. Void of action.
Adhesive attraction
Attraction At*trac"tion, n. [L. attractio: cf. F. attraction.] 1. (Physics) An invisible power in a body by which it draws anything to itself; the power in nature acting mutually between bodies or ultimate particles, tending to draw them together, or to produce their cohesion or combination, and conversely resisting separation. Note: Attraction is exerted at both sensible and insensible distances, and is variously denominated according to its qualities or phenomena. Under attraction at sensible distances, there are, -- (1.) Attraction of gravitation, which acts at all distances throughout the universe, with a force proportional directly to the product of the masses of the bodies and inversely to the square of their distances apart. (2.) Magnetic, diamagnetic, and electrical attraction, each of which is limited in its sensible range and is polar in its action, a property dependent on the quality or condition of matter, and not on its quantity. Under attraction at insensible distances, there are, -- (1.) Adhesive attraction, attraction between surfaces of sensible extent, or by the medium of an intervening substance. (2.) Cohesive attraction, attraction between ultimate particles, whether like or unlike, and causing simply an aggregation or a union of those particles, as in the absorption of gases by charcoal, or of oxygen by spongy platinum, or the process of solidification or crystallization. The power in adhesive attraction is strictly the same as that of cohesion. (3.) Capillary attraction, attraction causing a liquid to rise, in capillary tubes or interstices, above its level outside, as in very small glass tubes, or a sponge, or any porous substance, when one end is inserted in the liquid. It is a special case of cohesive attraction. (4.) Chemical attraction, or affinity, that peculiar force which causes elementary atoms, or groups of atoms, to unite to form molecules. 2. The act or property of attracting; the effect of the power or operation of attraction. --Newton. 3. The power or act of alluring, drawing to, inviting, or engaging; an attractive quality; as, the attraction of beauty or eloquence. 4. That which attracts; an attractive object or feature. Syn: Allurement; enticement; charm.
Alkaline reaction
Alkaline Al"ka*line (?; 277), a. [Cf. F. alcalin.] Of or pertaining to an alkali or to alkalies; having the properties of an alkali. Alkaline earths, certain substances, as lime, baryta, strontia, and magnesia, possessing some of the qualities of alkalies. Alkaline metals, potassium, sodium, c[ae]sium, lithium, rubidium. Alkaline reaction, a reaction indicating alkalinity, as by the action on limits, turmeric, etc.
Amicable action
Amicable Am"i*ca*ble, a. [L. amicabilis, fr. amicus friend, fr. amare to love. See Amiable.] Friendly; proceeding from, or exhibiting, friendliness; after the manner of friends; peaceable; as, an amicable disposition, or arrangement. That which was most remarkable in this contest was . . . the amicable manner in which it was managed. --Prideoux. Amicable action (Law.), an action commenced and prosecuted by amicable consent of the parties, for the purpose of obtaining a decision of the court on some matter of law involved in it. --Bouvier. --Burrill. Amicable numbers (Math.), two numbers, each of which is equal to the sum of all the aliquot parts of the other. Syn: Friendly; peaceable; kind; harmonious. Usage: Amicable, Friendly. Neither of these words denotes any great warmth of affection, since friendly has by no means the same strength as its noun friendship. It does, however, imply something of real cordiality; while amicable supposes very little more than that the parties referred to are not disposed to quarrel. Hence, we speak of amicable relations between two countries, an amicable adjustment of difficulties. ``Those who entertain friendly feelings toward each other can live amicably together.'
Angle of traction
Traction Trac"tion, n. [L. trahere, tractum, to draw: cf. F. traction.] 1. The act of drawing, or the state of being drawn; as, the traction of a muscle. 2. Specifically, the act of drawing a body along a plane by motive power, as the drawing of a carriage by men or horses, the towing of a boat by a tug. 3. Attraction; a drawing toward. [R.] 4. The adhesive friction of a wheel on a rail, a rope on a pulley, or the like. --Knight. Angle of traction (Mech.), the angle made with a given plane by the line of direction in which a tractive force acts. Traction engine, a locomotive for drawing vehicles on highways or in the fields.
Arefaction
Arefaction Ar`e*fac"tion, n. [L. arefacere to dry.] The act of drying, or the state of growing dry. The arefaction of the earth. --Sir M. Hale.
Assuefaction
Assuefaction As`sue*fac"tion, n. [L. assuefacere to accustom to; assuetus (p. p. of assuescere to accustom to) + facere to make; cf. OF. assuefaction.] The act of accustoming, or the state of being accustomed; habituation. [Obs.] Custom and studies efform the soul like wax, and by assuefaction introduce a nature. --Jer. Taylor.
Attraction
Attraction At*trac"tion, n. [L. attractio: cf. F. attraction.] 1. (Physics) An invisible power in a body by which it draws anything to itself; the power in nature acting mutually between bodies or ultimate particles, tending to draw them together, or to produce their cohesion or combination, and conversely resisting separation. Note: Attraction is exerted at both sensible and insensible distances, and is variously denominated according to its qualities or phenomena. Under attraction at sensible distances, there are, -- (1.) Attraction of gravitation, which acts at all distances throughout the universe, with a force proportional directly to the product of the masses of the bodies and inversely to the square of their distances apart. (2.) Magnetic, diamagnetic, and electrical attraction, each of which is limited in its sensible range and is polar in its action, a property dependent on the quality or condition of matter, and not on its quantity. Under attraction at insensible distances, there are, -- (1.) Adhesive attraction, attraction between surfaces of sensible extent, or by the medium of an intervening substance. (2.) Cohesive attraction, attraction between ultimate particles, whether like or unlike, and causing simply an aggregation or a union of those particles, as in the absorption of gases by charcoal, or of oxygen by spongy platinum, or the process of solidification or crystallization. The power in adhesive attraction is strictly the same as that of cohesion. (3.) Capillary attraction, attraction causing a liquid to rise, in capillary tubes or interstices, above its level outside, as in very small glass tubes, or a sponge, or any porous substance, when one end is inserted in the liquid. It is a special case of cohesive attraction. (4.) Chemical attraction, or affinity, that peculiar force which causes elementary atoms, or groups of atoms, to unite to form molecules. 2. The act or property of attracting; the effect of the power or operation of attraction. --Newton. 3. The power or act of alluring, drawing to, inviting, or engaging; an attractive quality; as, the attraction of beauty or eloquence. 4. That which attracts; an attractive object or feature. Syn: Allurement; enticement; charm.
Attraction of gravitation
Attraction At*trac"tion, n. [L. attractio: cf. F. attraction.] 1. (Physics) An invisible power in a body by which it draws anything to itself; the power in nature acting mutually between bodies or ultimate particles, tending to draw them together, or to produce their cohesion or combination, and conversely resisting separation. Note: Attraction is exerted at both sensible and insensible distances, and is variously denominated according to its qualities or phenomena. Under attraction at sensible distances, there are, -- (1.) Attraction of gravitation, which acts at all distances throughout the universe, with a force proportional directly to the product of the masses of the bodies and inversely to the square of their distances apart. (2.) Magnetic, diamagnetic, and electrical attraction, each of which is limited in its sensible range and is polar in its action, a property dependent on the quality or condition of matter, and not on its quantity. Under attraction at insensible distances, there are, -- (1.) Adhesive attraction, attraction between surfaces of sensible extent, or by the medium of an intervening substance. (2.) Cohesive attraction, attraction between ultimate particles, whether like or unlike, and causing simply an aggregation or a union of those particles, as in the absorption of gases by charcoal, or of oxygen by spongy platinum, or the process of solidification or crystallization. The power in adhesive attraction is strictly the same as that of cohesion. (3.) Capillary attraction, attraction causing a liquid to rise, in capillary tubes or interstices, above its level outside, as in very small glass tubes, or a sponge, or any porous substance, when one end is inserted in the liquid. It is a special case of cohesive attraction. (4.) Chemical attraction, or affinity, that peculiar force which causes elementary atoms, or groups of atoms, to unite to form molecules. 2. The act or property of attracting; the effect of the power or operation of attraction. --Newton. 3. The power or act of alluring, drawing to, inviting, or engaging; an attractive quality; as, the attraction of beauty or eloquence. 4. That which attracts; an attractive object or feature. Syn: Allurement; enticement; charm.
attraction of gravitation
Gravitation Grav"i*ta"tion, n. [Cf. F. gravitation. See Gravity.] 1. The act of gravitating. 2. (Pysics) That species of attraction or force by which all bodies or particles of matter in the universe tend toward each other; called also attraction of gravitation, universal gravitation, and universal gravity. See Attraction, and Weight. Law of gravitation, that law in accordance with which gravitation acts, namely, that every two bodies or portions of matter in the universe attract each other with a force proportional directly to the quantity of matter they contain, and inversely to the squares of their distances.
attraction or affinity
Chemical Chem"ic*al, a. Pertaining to chemistry; characterized or produced by the forces and operations of chemistry; employed in the processes of chemistry; as, chemical changes; chemical combinations. Chemical attraction or affinity. See under Attraction.
Attraction sphere
Attraction sphere At*trac"tion sphere 1. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The central mass of the aster in mitotic cell division; centrosphere. (b) Less often, the mass of archoplasm left by the aster in the resting cell. 2. (Bot.) A small body situated on or near the nucleus in the cells of some of the lower plants, consisting of two centrospheres containing centrosomes. It exercises an important function in mitosis.
Back-action
Steam engine Steam" en"gine An engine moved by steam. Note: In its most common forms its essential parts are a piston, a cylinder, and a valve gear. The piston works in the cylinder, to which steam is admitted by the action of the valve gear, and communicates motion to the machinery to be actuated. Steam engines are thus classified: 1. According to the wat the steam is used or applied, as condencing, noncondencing, compound, double-acting, single-acting, triple-expansion, etc. 2. According to the motion of the piston, as reciprocating, rotary, etc. 3. According to the motion imparted by the engine, as rotative and nonrotative. 4. According to the arrangement of the engine, as stationary, portable, and semiportable engines, beam engine, oscillating engine, direct-acting and back-acting engines, etc. 5. According to their uses, as portable, marine, locomotive, pumping, blowing, winding, and stationary engines. Locomotive and portable engines are usually high-pressure, noncondencing, rotative, and direct-acting. Marine engines are high or low pressure, rotative, and generally condencing, double-acting, and compound. Paddle engines are generally beam, side?lever, oscillating, or direct-acting. Screw engines are generally direct-acting, back-acting, or oscillating. Stationary engines belong to various classes, but are generally rotative. A horizontal or inclined stationary steam engine is called a left-hand or a right-hand engine when the crank shaft and driving pulley are on the left-hand side, or the right-hand side, respectively, or the engine, to a person looking at them from the cylinder, and is said to run forward or backward when the crank traverses the upward half, or lower half, respectively, of its path, while the piston rod makes its stroke outward from the cylinder. A marine engine, or the engine of a locomotive, is said to run forward when its motion is such as would propel the vessel or the locomotive forward. Steam engines are further classified as double-cylinder, disk, semicylinder, trunk engines, etc. Machines, such as cranes, hammers, etc., of which the steam engine forms a part, are called steam cranes, steam hammers, etc. See Illustration in Appendix. Back-acting, or Back-action, steam engine, a steam engine in which the motion is transmitted backward from the crosshead to a crank which is between the crosshead and the cylinder, or beyond the cylinder. Portable steam engine, a steam engine combined with, and attached to, a boiler which is mounted on wheels so as to admit of easy transportation; -- used for driving machinery in the field, as trashing machines, draining pumps, etc. Semiportable steam engine, a steam engine combined with, and attached to, a steam boiler, but not mounted on wheels.
Benefaction
Benefaction Ben`e*fac"tion, n. [L. benefactio, fr. benefacere to do good to one; bene well + facere to do. See Benefit.] 1. The act of conferring a benefit. --Johnson. 2. A benefit conferred; esp. a charitable donation. Syn: Gift; present; gratuity; boon; alms.
Blowpipe reaction
Blowpipe Blow"pipe`, n. 1. A tube for directing a jet of air into a fire or into the flame of a lamp or candle, so as to concentrate the heat on some object. Note: It is called a mouth blowpipe when used with the mouth; but for both chemical and industrial purposes, it is often worked by a bellows or other contrivance. The common mouth blowpipe is a tapering tube with a very small orifice at the end to be inserted in the flame. The oxyhydrogen blowpipe, invented by Dr. Hare in 1801, is an instrument in which oxygen and hydrogen, taken from separate reservoirs, in the proportions of two volumes of hydrogen to one of oxygen, are burned in a jet, under pressure. It gives a heat that will consume the diamond, fuse platinum, and dissipate in vapor, or in gaseous forms, most known substances. 2. A blowgun; a blowtube. Blowpipe analysis (Chem.), analysis by means of the blowpipe. Blowpipe reaction (Chem.), the characteristic behavior of a substance subjected to a test by means of the blowpipe.
Breech action
Breech action Breech action The breech mechanism in breech-loading small arms and certain special guns, as automatic and machine guns; -- used frequently in referring to the method by which the movable barrels of breech-loading shotguns are locked, unlocked, or rotated to loading position.
Capillary attraction
Attraction At*trac"tion, n. [L. attractio: cf. F. attraction.] 1. (Physics) An invisible power in a body by which it draws anything to itself; the power in nature acting mutually between bodies or ultimate particles, tending to draw them together, or to produce their cohesion or combination, and conversely resisting separation. Note: Attraction is exerted at both sensible and insensible distances, and is variously denominated according to its qualities or phenomena. Under attraction at sensible distances, there are, -- (1.) Attraction of gravitation, which acts at all distances throughout the universe, with a force proportional directly to the product of the masses of the bodies and inversely to the square of their distances apart. (2.) Magnetic, diamagnetic, and electrical attraction, each of which is limited in its sensible range and is polar in its action, a property dependent on the quality or condition of matter, and not on its quantity. Under attraction at insensible distances, there are, -- (1.) Adhesive attraction, attraction between surfaces of sensible extent, or by the medium of an intervening substance. (2.) Cohesive attraction, attraction between ultimate particles, whether like or unlike, and causing simply an aggregation or a union of those particles, as in the absorption of gases by charcoal, or of oxygen by spongy platinum, or the process of solidification or crystallization. The power in adhesive attraction is strictly the same as that of cohesion. (3.) Capillary attraction, attraction causing a liquid to rise, in capillary tubes or interstices, above its level outside, as in very small glass tubes, or a sponge, or any porous substance, when one end is inserted in the liquid. It is a special case of cohesive attraction. (4.) Chemical attraction, or affinity, that peculiar force which causes elementary atoms, or groups of atoms, to unite to form molecules. 2. The act or property of attracting; the effect of the power or operation of attraction. --Newton. 3. The power or act of alluring, drawing to, inviting, or engaging; an attractive quality; as, the attraction of beauty or eloquence. 4. That which attracts; an attractive object or feature. Syn: Allurement; enticement; charm.
Capillary attraction
Capillary Cap"il*la*ry (k[a^]p"[i^]l*l[asl]*r[y^] or k[.a]*p[i^]l"l[.a]*r[y^]; 277), a. [L. capillaris, fr. capillus hair. Cf. Capillaire.] 1. Resembling a hair; fine; minute; very slender; having minute tubes or interspaces; having very small bore; as, the capillary vessels of animals and plants. 2. Pertaining to capillary tubes or vessels; as, capillary action. Capillary attraction, Capillary repulsion, the apparent attraction or repulsion between a solid and liquid caused by capillarity. See Capillarity, and Attraction. Capillarity tubes. See the Note under Capillarity.
Chemical attraction
Attraction At*trac"tion, n. [L. attractio: cf. F. attraction.] 1. (Physics) An invisible power in a body by which it draws anything to itself; the power in nature acting mutually between bodies or ultimate particles, tending to draw them together, or to produce their cohesion or combination, and conversely resisting separation. Note: Attraction is exerted at both sensible and insensible distances, and is variously denominated according to its qualities or phenomena. Under attraction at sensible distances, there are, -- (1.) Attraction of gravitation, which acts at all distances throughout the universe, with a force proportional directly to the product of the masses of the bodies and inversely to the square of their distances apart. (2.) Magnetic, diamagnetic, and electrical attraction, each of which is limited in its sensible range and is polar in its action, a property dependent on the quality or condition of matter, and not on its quantity. Under attraction at insensible distances, there are, -- (1.) Adhesive attraction, attraction between surfaces of sensible extent, or by the medium of an intervening substance. (2.) Cohesive attraction, attraction between ultimate particles, whether like or unlike, and causing simply an aggregation or a union of those particles, as in the absorption of gases by charcoal, or of oxygen by spongy platinum, or the process of solidification or crystallization. The power in adhesive attraction is strictly the same as that of cohesion. (3.) Capillary attraction, attraction causing a liquid to rise, in capillary tubes or interstices, above its level outside, as in very small glass tubes, or a sponge, or any porous substance, when one end is inserted in the liquid. It is a special case of cohesive attraction. (4.) Chemical attraction, or affinity, that peculiar force which causes elementary atoms, or groups of atoms, to unite to form molecules. 2. The act or property of attracting; the effect of the power or operation of attraction. --Newton. 3. The power or act of alluring, drawing to, inviting, or engaging; an attractive quality; as, the attraction of beauty or eloquence. 4. That which attracts; an attractive object or feature. Syn: Allurement; enticement; charm.
Chose in action
Chose Chose, n.; pl. Choses. [F., fr. L. causa cause, reason. See Cause.] (Law) A thing; personal property. Chose in action, a thing of which one has not possession or actual enjoyment, but only a right to it, or a right to demand it by action at law, and which does not exist at the time in specie; a personal right to a thing not reduced to possession, but recoverable by suit at law; as a right to recover money due on a contract, or damages for a tort, which can not be enforced against a reluctant party without suit. Chose in possession, a thing in possession, as distinguished from a thing in action. Chose local, a thing annexed to a place, as a mill. Chose transitory, a thing which is movable. --Cowell. Blount.
Chylifaction
Chylifaction Chyl`i*fac"tion, n. [Chyle + L. facere to make.] (Physiol.) The act or process by which chyle is formed from food in animal bodies; chylification, -- a digestive process.
Coaction
Coaction Co*ac"tion, n. [L. coactio.] Force; compulsion, either in restraining or impelling. --Sojth.

Meaning of action from wikipedia

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