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

Most of those arrests have been for planning or carrying out direct actions, including slow marching - a tactic usually used to block traffic. —Issy Ronald, CNN, 13 Jan. 2025

In this worldview, art about the climate crisis is at best irrelevant, and, at worst, counterproductive to the direct action necessary to stop it. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 17 Sep. 2024

Right to Roam has generated widespread debate about land access and justice in England and beyond — in large part thanks to its use of trespass as direct action. —Krista Stevens, Longreads, 30 Dec. 2024

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

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