the action

noun

: the most exciting or interesting activities that are happening in a particular place
The new theater places the audience closer to the center/middle of the action.
I moved to New York City to be (a) part of the action.

Examples of the action in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Dennis Duffy, president of the D128 Union, was critical of the action. — Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2026 BetMGM is giving you a chance to get in on the action and earn up to $1,500 in bonuses if your first wager loses when using promo code FOXNEWS. — Outkick, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026 In this case, the suit alleges, the police jury illegally amended the agenda mid-meeting to avoid notifying the public of the action. — ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026 Originally, Marc Pos, the creator, had designs to set the action entirely on a ship. — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for the action

Rhymes for the action

See All Rhymes for the action

Browse Nearby Words

the/a chosen few
the action
T-head
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“The action.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20action. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All