uses of “act”

Caught in the act

To be observed doing something

“The secretary denied stealing office supplies until she was caught in the act.”

A hard act to follow

Difficult to take the place of a top performer

“Tanaka-san, who retires this month, is considered the best chairman in the history of the company so the incoming chairman has a hard act to follow.”

Put on an act

To pretend

“Higuchi-san seems not to care about winning the design competition but I think she is putting on an act.”

Act up

To misbehave, not run properly

“If my computer keeps acting up, I am going to miss the deadline.”

Act on

To take action

“All of our competitors had the same information but we are the only ones who acted on it.”