How to Use act in a Sentence

act

1 of 2 noun
  • We were grateful for her many acts of kindness.
  • In the first act, two characters are talking in a restaurant.
  • These small acts are not small.
    — Marc Brackett, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
  • The act was seen as a sign to keep the team first.
    — Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Sep. 2025
  • Love his music but don’t love the act.
    — David Hookstead Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026
  • Read why some believe this act fell flat.
    — Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Fake blood and mock deaths have been part Gwar’s act for decades.
    — Nathaniel Levine, Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2025
  • My acts prove — free press in Cuba.
    — NBC news, 12 Apr. 2026
  • Here’s what to know about the act, and how it could be invoked.
    — Connor Greene, Time, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Tim Cook's act is a tough one to follow.
    — Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2026
  • This was an act of terror, James.
    — Faith Bugenhagen, Austin American Statesman, 2 Mar. 2026
  • There’s no sort of other genre at play, at least for the first act kind.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 9 Mar. 2026
  • That’s a no-no in hockey, the type of act that can turn things messy.
    — Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
  • This is not a random act of gunfire.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 5 May 2026
  • The next act was a lot less riveting.
    — The Athletic Mlb Staff, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
  • But right now, this is an act of violence.
    — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2025
  • This is just the opening act in the rate story, though.
    — Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
  • They’re thrilled by the act of giving you advice.
    — Selome Hailu, Variety, 21 Feb. 2026
  • More acts will be announced in the coming weeks.
    — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 29 Apr. 2026
  • At press time no support acts have been announced.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Both figures mark career highs for the act.
    — Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 31 Aug. 2025
  • These acts were the excesses of war.
    — Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 May 2026
  • Bad choices can result in evil acts.
    — Tara Sonenshine, Baltimore Sun, 9 Feb. 2026
  • There is something very classic about these acts.
    — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 14 Feb. 2026
  • Your dreams are an act of resistance.
    — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 23 Feb. 2026
  • From wire-to-wire to a harrowing high-wire act.
    — Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2026
  • But the five-piece act doesn’t look exhausted at all.
    — Deasia Paige, AJC.com, 7 Jan. 2026
  • For many, the sheer act of obtaining food of the last two years.
    — Kara Fox, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025
  • The small act marked a powerful shift.
    — ABC News, 27 May 2026
  • No support acts have been announced yet.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 30 Mar. 2026

act

2 of 2 verb
  • The government was slow to act.
  • He knew he had to act quickly.
  • I believe that the killer acted alone.
  • We must act soon to end this crisis.
  • We were acting in the best interests of our children.
  • She acted on behalf of her father, who was not at the meeting.
  • I noticed that the dog was acting funny this morning.
  • She had acted in self-defense when she killed her attacker.
  • She learned at an early age how to act properly in social situations.
  • People are always telling me how I should act and what I should say.
  • To not act as if one ring is enough.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 30 Sep. 2025
  • And that’s why the time to act is now.
    — Becky Quick, CNBC, 8 Jan. 2026
  • With words like these, act fast on this deal!
    — George Yang, PC Magazine, 3 Sep. 2025
  • No one was acting in bad faith.
    — Hilke Schellmann, Scientific American, 17 Feb. 2026
  • But their kids are acting in this movie.
    — Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
  • To not to act as if the job is already done.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Write it down, tighten the plan, then act.
    — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026
  • The window to act on your own terms is still open.
    — Shiv Kaushik, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
  • Keep it short, kind, and easy to act on today.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
  • But Shum couldn’t give up acting.
    — Myrna Petlicki, Chicago Tribune, 20 Apr. 2026
  • The toll booth is the ability to act on it.
    — Carrie McCabe, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026
  • Momsen had been acting since the age of three.
    — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Be ready to act fast and trust your intuition.
    — Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 26 May 2026
  • Yet most buyers still can’t afford to act on it.
    — Jake Angelo, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2026
  • The stakes change the moment software has to act.
    — Robert J. Szczerba, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026
  • The right setting acts as a skeleton key.
    — Kevin Sintumuang, Outside, 10 Mar. 2026
  • Marty thought the city needed to act, as well.
    — John Ramos, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026
  • The advantage will go to those who act first.
    — Cameron Partridge, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Her lawsuit will act as a bellwether case.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 27 Jan. 2026
  • That led to a lifelong love of acting.
    — Myrna Petlicki, Chicago Tribune, 20 Apr. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'act.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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