act up

verb

acted up; acting up; acts up

Definition of act up

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to act in a way different from that which is normal or expected: such as

a : to behave in an unruly, recalcitrant, or capricious manner the children were acting up

b : show off

c : to function improperly this typewriter is acting up again

2 : to become active or acute after being quiescent her rheumatism started to act up

ACT UP

abbreviation

Definition of ACT UP (Entry 2 of 2)

AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power

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Examples of act up in a Sentence

Verb

the two-year-old was acting up in church so much that her dad had to take her outside you should have seen the boys acting up when they put on their aprons

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Time Traveler for act up

The first known use of act up was in 1879

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