activity

English

Etymology

From Middle French activité, from Latin activitas. Equivalent to active +‎ -ity.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ækˈtɪ.vɪ.ti/, /ækˈtɪ.vɪ.tiː/, /ækˈtɪ.və.ti/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK male)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪvɪti

Noun

activity (countable and uncountable, plural activities)

1. (uncountable) The state or quality of being active; activeness.

   Pit row was abuzz with activity.

2. (countable) Something done as an action or a movement.

   The activity for the morning was a walk to the store.

3. (countable) Something done for pleasure or entertainment, especially one involving movement or an excursion.
   • 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:

     Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.

   An increasing number of sports activities are on offer at the university.

   Quilting can be an enjoyable activity.

4. (grammar, semantics) The lexical aspect (aktionsart) of verbs or predicates that change over time and have no natural end point.
   • 1997, Robert van Valin and Randy LaPolla, Syntax‎^[1], page 92:

     […] distinctions among states of affairs are reflected to a striking degree in distinctions among Aktionsart types. That is, situations are expressed by state verbs or predicates, events by achievement verbs or predicates, and actions by activity verbs or predicates.

5. (physics) the number of radioactive decays per second, measured in becquerels

Usage notes

• Adjectives often used with "activity": increased, decreased, high, low, volcanic, seismic, eruptive, intellectual, physical, mental, spiritual, muscular, cerebral, favorite, recreational, practical, cultural, artistic, literary, musical, political, diplomatic, military, domestic, voluntary, missionary, chemical, optical, productive, reproductive, industrial, commercial, etc.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:activity

Antonyms

• rest
• passivity

Derived terms

• activity book
• activity stream
• activity trap
• beehive of activity
• catalytic activity
• extravehicular activity
• hive of activity
• nonactivity
• optical activity
• overactivity
• photoactivity
• radioactivity
• self-activity
• subactivity
• ultrahazardous activity
• underactivity
• zone of polarizing activity

 

Translations

state or quality of being active

• Albanian: aktivitet (sq) f
• Arabic: نَشَاط‎ (ar) m (našāṭ)
• Armenian: գործունեություն (hy) (gorcuneutʿyun)
• Asturian: actividá f
• Azerbaijani: fəaliyyət (az), fəallıq, aktivlik
• Bulgarian: акти́вност (bg) f (aktívnost)
• Catalan: activitat (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 活動 (zh), 活动 (zh) (huódòng)

• Czech: aktivita (cs) f, čilost f
• Danish: aktivitet c
• Dutch: activiteit (nl) f, actief (nl) f
• Esperanto: aktiveco
• Estonian: aktiivsus
• Finnish: aktiivisuus (fi), toiminta (fi)
• French: activité (fr) f
• Galician: actividade (gl) f
• Georgian: მოქმედება f (mokmedeba)
• German: Aktivität (de) f
• Greek: δραστηριότητα (el) f (drastiriótita)

  Ancient: ἐνέργεια f (enérgeia)

• Hebrew: פעילות‎ (he) f (pe‘ilút), מעש‎ (he) m (má`as) (rare)
• Hungarian: elfoglaltság (hu)
• Irish: fuadar m

• Italian: attività (it) f
• Japanese: 活動 (ja) (かつどう, katsudō)
• Korean: 활동 (ko) (hwaldong)
• Latin: actiō (la) f
• Latvian: aktivitāte f
• Lithuanian: aktyvùmas m
• Malay: kegiatan, aktiviti
• Maori: ngohe, hohenga
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: aktivitet (no) m, virksomhet (no) m or f

  Nynorsk: aktivitet m

• Persian: فعالیت‎ (fa) (fa'âliyat)
• Polish: aktywność (pl) f
• Portuguese: atividade (pt) f
• Romanian: activitate (ro) f
• Russian: де́ятельность (ru) f (déjatelʹnostʹ), акти́вность (ru) f (aktívnostʹ)
• Sardinian:

  Logudorese: faìna

• Slovak: aktivita f, ruch m
• Slovene: aktívnost f, dejávnost (sl) f
• Spanish: actividad (es) f
• Swedish: aktivitet (sv) c, verksamhet (sv) c
• Tagalog: kabilusan
• Ukrainian: дія́льність (uk) f (dijálʹnistʹ), акти́вність (uk) f (aktývnistʹ)
• Vietnamese: hoạt động (vi)

something done as an action or a movement

• Armenian: գործունեություն (hy) (gorcuneutʿyun)
• Asturian: actividá f
• Bulgarian: де́йност (bg) f (déjnost)
• Catalan: activitat (ca) f
• Central Mazahua: b'ɇpji
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 動作 (zh), 动作 (zh) (dòngzuò)

• Czech: činnost (cs) f
• Danish: aktivitet c
• Dutch: activiteit (nl) f, beweging (nl) f, werkzaamheid (nl) f
• Egyptian: (st-ꜥ f)
• Estonian: tegevus
• Finnish: aktiviteetti (fi), tekeminen (fi), toiminta (fi)
• French: activité (fr) f
• Galician: actividade (gl) f
• Georgian: აქტიურობა f (akṭiuroba)
• German: Aktivität (de) f, Handlung (de) f, Tätigkeit (de) f
• Greek: δράση (el) f (drási)

  Ancient: ἐνέργεια f (enérgeia)

• Hebrew: פעילות‎ (he) f (pe‘ilút)
• Hungarian: tevékenység (hu)
• Indonesian: kegiatan (id), aktivitas (id)
• Italian: attività (it) f
• Japanese: 活動 (ja) (かつどう, katsudō)

• Malay: kegiatan, aktiviti
• Malayalam: പ്രയോഗം (ml) (prayōgaṃ)
• Maltese: attività f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: aktivitet (no) m

  Nynorsk: aktivitet m

• Polish: aktywność (pl) f
• Portuguese: atividade (pt) f
• Romanian: activitate (ro) f
• Russian: де́йствие (ru) f (déjstvije), мероприя́тие (ru) f (meroprijátije), де́ло (ru) f (délo)
• Sanskrit: प्रयोगः (sa) m (prayogaḥ)
• Sardinian:

  Logudorese: faìna

• Scots: acteevity
• Scottish Gaelic: gnìomhachd f
• Semai: ektiviti, ektiviti
• Slovak: činnosť f, aktivita f
• Slovene: aktívnost f, dejávnost (sl) f
• Spanish: actividad (es) f
• Swedish: aktivitet (sv) c, sysselsättning (sv)
• Thai: การเคลื่อนไหว (th) (gaan-klʉ̂ʉan-wǎi)
• Tigrinya: ንጥፈት (nəṭfät)
• Ukrainian: акти́вність (uk) f (aktývnistʹ), дія́льність (uk) f (dijálʹnistʹ)
• Welsh: gweithgaredd (cy) m

something done for pleasure or entertainment

• Bulgarian: акти́вност (bg) f (aktívnost)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 活動 (zh), ^{(please verify)} 活动 (zh) (huódòng)

• Czech: aktivita (cs) f
• Danish: aktivitet c
• Dutch: activiteit (nl) f
• Finnish: aktiviteetti (fi), toiminta (fi), tekeminen (fi)
• French: activité (fr) f
• Galician: actividade (gl) f
• German: Aktivität (de) f, Unternehmung (de) f
• Greek: δραστηριότητα (el) f (drastiriótita)
• Hebrew: פעילות‎ (he) f (pe‘ilút)
• Indonesian: kegiatan (id), aktivitas (id)
• Italian: attività (it) f, svago (it) m
• Japanese: 活動 (ja) (かつどう, katsudō)
• Maltese: attività f

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: aktivitet (no) m

  Nynorsk: aktivitet m

• Polish: działalność (pl) f
• Portuguese: atividade (pt) f
• Romanian: activitate (ro) f
• Russian: де́ло (ru) f (délo), заня́тие (ru) f (zanjátije)
• Sardinian:

  Logudorese: faìna

• Scots: acteevity
• Scottish Gaelic: spòrs f, gnìomhachd f
• Slovak: aktivita f, koníček m, záľuba f
• Spanish: actividad (es) f
• Swedish: aktivitet (sv) c, sysselsättning (sv) c
• Thai: กิจกรรม (th) (gìtjàgam)
• Ukrainian: дія́льність (uk) f (dijálʹnistʹ)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} activitate
• Irish: ^{(please verify)} gníomhaíocht f
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} アクティビティー (akutibitī)

• Norman: ^{(please verify)} tinné m (Jersey)
• Volapük: ^{(please verify)} dunöf

Further reading

• “activity” in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• activity in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.