direct action

noun

: action that seeks to achieve an end directly and by the most immediately effective means (such as a boycott or strike)

Examples of direct action in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Early deployments provided recommendations rather than taking direct action, allowing his team to validate and tune the system over time. —Tony Bradley, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025

The Democrats who did show said that their party needed to embrace direct action and international solidarity. —David Weigel, semafor.com, 11 Aug. 2025

And police in London arrested 466 people on Saturday during a protest against the British government’s decision to ban the pro-Palestinian direct action group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws. —Dana Karni, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2025

Fire progression slowed allowing firefighters to take more direct action. —Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 8 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1912, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for direct action

• benefaction
• counteraction
• interaction
• liquefaction
• putrefaction
• rarefaction
• satisfaction
• stupefaction
• tumefaction
• abstraction
• attraction
• compaction

Legal Definition

direct action

noun

1

: an action in which the plaintiff sues a person's insurer without first obtaining a judgment against the insured or joining the insured

2

: a suit by a shareholder for an injury to himself or herself independent from any injury to the corporation

called also individual action

compare derivative action