action verb

American  

noun

Grammar.

1. a verb, as run, think, or soothe, that expresses something that a person, animal, object, or process in nature can do, as in Close the door! or The storm is flooding many houses along the coast, rather than expressing a state of being.

---

Etymology

Origin of action verb

First recorded in 1875–80

Compare meaning

How does action-verb compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• action verb vs. linking verb

Example Sentences

Despite the action verb in the book title, this brother and sister are fascinatingly, and often frustratingly, inert.

From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2023

And Christiana Figueres, the former U.N. climate secretary who helped forge the 2015 Paris agreement and then started a non-profit called Climate Optimism, sees hope not as a noun but an action verb.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 19, 2022

Whenever you find a phrase like the ones below, consider substituting an action verb.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

“WarioWare” games are Nintendo at its most wacky: 10 seconds, one action verb as a directive and then go!

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 2021

Remember, ‘enslaving’ is an action verb meaning to place into slavery.

From Fox News • Jul. 9, 2019