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 Part of it was just that for a story like The Husbands, so much of the action has to happen inside the main character’s thoughts and reactions. Holly Gramazio, Peoplemag, 24 Apr. 2024 The nearly 60-year-old multipurpose park was always a terrible place to watch a baseball game, with seats ridiculously distant from the action, but in recent years the experience has only gotten worse. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2024 There were no details on what the measures might propose, but the action queues the measures up for House action next month. Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic, 24 Apr. 2024 The hotel, located in the heart of Chania's Old Town, allows travelers to stay amid the action while also offering a retreat-worthy rooftop garden that comes with sweeping views of the sea. Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 23 Apr. 2024 Interspersed amid the action are performances by a very theatrical metal band called Sorcery, whose stage show makes the dream sequences in The Song Remain the Same look like On Golden Pond. Stephen Deusner, SPIN, 23 Apr. 2024 The results are alternately sharp and scattershot, with a range of supporting eccentrics dipping in and out of the action: a silent scene-stealer of an upstairs neighbor (Rebecca F. Wright), a tetchy lesbian novelist (Amy Zimmer), and a genially randy Grubhub courier (Ali). Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 22 Apr. 2024 More than 90 million Americans watched, thunderstruck, as TV helicopters provided live shots of the action. Ben Finley, Quartz, 13 Apr. 2024 Across eight episodes stuffed full of dull monologues in a country 3,000 miles away from the action of the war, the philosopher’s quest feels both self-serving and arrogant. Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the action.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near the action

Cite this Entry

“The action.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20action. Accessed 2 May. 2024.

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