acteth

Verb

act (third-person singular simple present acts, present participle acting, simple past and past participle acted)

1. (intransitive) To do something.
   • If you don’t act soon, you will be in trouble.
2. (obsolete, transitive) To do (something); to perform.
   • that we act our temporal affairs with a deſire no greater than our neceſſity1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, “Signes of Purity of Intention”, in The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC, page 23
3. (intransitive) To perform a theatrical role.
   • I started acting at the age of eleven in my local theatre.
4. (intransitive) Of a play: to be acted out (well or badly).
   • But whatever types he assumes, the need to have a good play which acts delightfully well before the audience, and to their delectation, is the dominant thrust. If the play acts well, the director gets the credits.2011, Effiong Johnson, Play Production Processes, page 180
5. (intransitive) To behave in a certain manner for an indefinite length of time.
   • A dog which acts aggressively is likely to bite.
6. (copulative) To convey an appearance of being.
   • He acted unconcerned so the others wouldn’t worry.

See all 30 meanings of act