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.
By 2025, they were booked to play Coachella, where they were the only Japanese act on the line-up.
From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026
A rare few act on it and cash in their winnings near the top.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
Refiners earn more per barrel by producing jet fuel than by producing alternative products such as gasoline and diesel, Plonski said, and U.S. refiners have the operational flexibility to act on that.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026
We will act on a confirmed sell signal but expect only a modest pullback within an ongoing bullish trend.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026
What was the point of plotting a course if I could not act on it?
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
