activity

[ ak-tiv-i-tee ]

noun

, plural ac·tiv·i·ties.

1. the state or quality of being active:

   There was not much activity in the stock market today. He doesn't have enough physical activity in his life.

2. a specific deed, action, function, or sphere of action:

   social activities.

3. work, especially in elementary grades at school, that involves direct experience by the student rather than textbook study.
4. energetic activity; animation; liveliness.
5. a use of energy or force; an active movement or operation.
6. normal mental or bodily power, function, or process.
7. Physical Chemistry. the capacity of a substance to react, corrected for the loss of reactivity due to the interaction of its constituents.
8. Physics.
   1. the number of atoms of a radioactive substance that disintegrate per unit of time, usually expressed in curies.
   2. radioactivity.
9. an organizational unit or the function it performs.

activity

/ ækˈtɪvɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state or quality of being active
2. lively action or movement
3. any specific deed, action, pursuit, etc

   recreational activities

4. the number of disintegrations of a radioactive substance in a given unit of time, usually expressed in curies or disintegrations per second
5. 1. the capacity of a substance to undergo chemical change
   2. the effective concentration of a substance in a chemical system. The absolute activity of a substance B, λ B , is defined as exp (μ B RT ) where μ B is the chemical potential

Other Words From

• non·ac·tiv·i·ty noun plural nonactivities
• pre·ac·tiv·i·ty noun plural preactivities
• su·per·ac·tiv·i·ty noun plural superactivities

Word History and Origins

Origin of activity¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Middle French or directly from Medieval Latin āctīvitās; active, -ity

Example Sentences

The researchers found that adult chimpanzees were more likely to engage in social play before participating in group activities, such as monkey hunting or territorial defense against hostile outsiders.

From Science Daily

The Sheriff’s Department said in a statement that the ruling wouldn’t affect its ongoing efforts to investigate “allegations of law enforcement gang activity” and that officials “encourage” deputies to “engage with” oversight bodies.

From Los Angeles Times

This combination of speech and brain activity data achieved an impressive 97.53 per cent accuracy in diagnosing depression, significantly outperforming alternative methods.

From Science Daily

A total of 117 subjects participated in studies that evaluated blood pressure across a wide range of activities and settings.

From Science Daily

In preclinical studies, the team targeted EZH2's alternative activities to assess potential treatment solutions.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• act
• endeavor
• enterprise
• job
• project
• scheme
• task
• venture
• work