activity

American  

[ak-tiv-i-tee] / ækˈtɪv ɪ ti /

noun

plural

activities

1. the state or quality of being active.

   There was not much activity in the stock market today. He doesn't have enough physical activity in his life.

2. a specific deed, action, function, or sphere of action.

   social activities.

3. work, especially in elementary grades at school, that involves direct experience by the student rather than textbook study.

4. energetic activity; animation; liveliness.

5. a use of energy or force; an active movement or operation.

6. normal mental or bodily power, function, or process.

7. Physical Chemistry. the capacity of a substance to react, corrected for the loss of reactivity due to the interaction of its constituents.

8. Physics.

   1. the number of atoms of a radioactive substance that disintegrate per unit of time, usually expressed in curies.

   2. radioactivity.

9. an organizational unit or the function it performs.

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activity British  

/ ækˈtɪvɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state or quality of being active

2. lively action or movement

3. any specific deed, action, pursuit, etc

   recreational activities

4. the number of disintegrations of a radioactive substance in a given unit of time, usually expressed in curies or disintegrations per second

5. 1. the capacity of a substance to undergo chemical change

   2. the effective concentration of a substance in a chemical system. The absolute activity of a substance B, λ B , is defined as exp (μ B RT ) where μ B is the chemical potential

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Other Word Forms

• nonactivity noun
• preactivity noun
• superactivity noun

Etymology

Origin of activity

First recorded in 1520–30; from Middle French or directly from Medieval Latin āctīvitās; active, -ity

Example Sentences

Despite the lackluster growth in recent economic activity, the labor market has remained quite tight, Capital Economics chief Europe economist Andrew Kenningham said in a note to clients after the jobless data.

From The Wall Street Journal

It follows a slowdown in momentum of services activity in the bloc, as well as a further weakening of manufacturing activity at the start of the year.

From The Wall Street Journal

Family activities keep them busy, but Hammel-Sawyer thinks it’s important for her family to know she has other interests too.

From Los Angeles Times

I’m one of eight kids, so there was always chaos and activity around.

From Los Angeles Times

As more people reach insurance settlements, Urbach expects lot selling activity to pick up again.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• act
• endeavor
• enterprise
• job
• project
• scheme
• task
• venture
• work