act on
Britishverb
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to regulate one's behaviour in accordance with (advice, information, etc)
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to have an effect on (illness, a part of the body, etc)
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Also, act upon . Conduct oneself in accordance with or as a result of information or another action, as in I will act on my lawyer's advice , or The manager refused to act upon the hotel guest's complaints . [c. 1800]
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Influence or affect, as in The baby's fussing acted on the sitter's nerves . [c. 1800]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The band were in the top five most-played acts on both Spotify and YouTube in both Edinburgh and Glasgow - higher than anywhere else, including their home city of Manchester.
From BBC
People often make the worst professional mistakes when they find themselves acting on their basic emotions.
And by acting on his instincts—with Paramount’s backing—he created a clutch of movies still celebrated for their wit, charm, winking innuendo and sophistication.
During labour, monitoring indicated that her heartbeat was abnormal, but this was not acted on.
From BBC
They were halfway down the bike path before Jonah’s mind kicked into gear, letting him think again instead of just acting on reflex.
From Literature
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.