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

In their public statements, senior U.S. defense officials argue that military AI systems should only make suggestions rather than take direct action. —Sebastian Elbaum, Foreign Affairs, 6 Dec. 2024

However, calls for more direct action from the government have yet to be answered. —Richard Windsor, The Week Uk, theweek, 5 Dec. 2024

Over the next 16 years, without easing the threat of direct action, the tribes worked with environmentalists, irrigators, commercial fishers, state and federal governments, and PacifiCorp itself to help the utility company do just that. —Jeff Moag, Outside Online, 3 Dec. 2024

Without the parameters of the NLRA, worker direct action would again become the only remedy to address grievances. —Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1912, in the meaning defined above

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