action verb

noun

, Grammar.

1. a verb, as run, think, or soothe, that expresses something that a person, animal, object, or process in nature can do, as in Close the door! or The storm is flooding many houses along the coast, rather than expressing a state of being. Compare copula ( def 2 ), stative.

Word History and Origins

Origin of action verb¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Despite the action verb in the book title, this brother and sister are fascinatingly, and often frustratingly, inert.

From New York Times

And Christiana Figueres, the former U.N. climate secretary who helped forge the 2015 Paris agreement and then started a non-profit called Climate Optimism, sees hope not as a noun but an action verb.

From Seattle Times

“WarioWare” games are Nintendo at its most wacky: 10 seconds, one action verb as a directive and then go!

From Los Angeles Times

“I thought about that word, ‘be,’ and how ‘be’ is not only a linking verb, it’s an action verb,” he said.

From New York Times

Can we please stop using the word “rips” as an action verb to describe President Trump’s infantile tweets?

From Washington Post