acting

acting — noun

1. the work or skill of pretending to be a character in a film, play, or television

1.nounB1
Definition

the work or skill of pretending to be a character in a film, play, or television show, in front of an audience or camera.

Example

Zane started acting at age six in school plays in Taipei.

uncountable noun used as activity/hobby

After ten years of acting, Wren finally won a role in a major film.

after [time period] of acting — career duration pattern

Common collocations
  • good acting
  • bad acting
  • acting career
  • acting class
  • acting lessons
  • take up acting
Synonyms
  • performing

    broader; covers music and dance too, not only drama

  • drama

    often the school subject or genre, not the activity itself

Grammar Patterns

acting in [films/plays/TV]

take up acting

Usage Note

Uncountable: never 'an acting' or 'actings'. Refers to the activity itself, the skill, or the quality of someone's performance — context tells you which.

Common Mistakes

She is good at the acting.
She is good at acting.
uncountable, no article needed.
He took some actings classes.
He took some acting classes.
singular form when used before another noun.

acting — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four describe someone or something that fills a role for a limited time, but they differ in formality and scope. 'Acting' is the standard label for an officially appointed substitute in a senior post (acting president, acting director); it always sits directly in front of the job title. 'Interim' is very close and often interchangeable, but feels slightly more business-formal and is common in press releases — 'interim CEO'. 'Temporary' is the broadest word: it covers any short-term arrangement (a temporary worker, a temporary fix), not specifically a leadership stand-in. 'Stand-in' is informal and suggests a one-off cover, like a stand-in teacher for one afternoon, rather than a multi-month appointment. Compare: 'the acting mayor signed the order' (formal title) vs 'a stand-in teacher took the class' (casual cover).

acting ↗interim ↗temporary ↗stand-in

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • take up acting
  • go into acting
  • give up acting

Prepositions

  • in (acting in films)
  • as (serve as acting director)

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Both senses come from the verb 'act', borrowed into English in the late 1300s from Latin 'actus' (a doing, a performance), the past participle of 'agere' (to do, to drive). The noun sense ('performing on stage') developed in the 1500s as English theatre grew, when 'acting' came to name what an actor does. The adjective sense ('temporarily holding a role') appeared later, in the 1700s, drawing on the older meaning of 'act' as 'carrying out the duties of a position' — so an acting captain was someone doing the captain's work for the time being. The two senses thus share one root verb but split early into very different uses.