direct action
noun
: action that seeks to achieve an end directly and by the most immediately effective means (such as a boycott or strike)
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web These regional church leaders are generally expected to act autonomously and handle their own affairs without direct action from the pope. 
Fox News, 21 July 2022 The protestors were taking part in a direct action organized by Shut Down DC, a group that came together several years ago in response to the youth climate strike movement. Shannon Larson, BostonGlobe.com, 8 July 2022 Mark Edwards, a spokesperson for the Little Rock Police Department, said the award is given for an act that results in the saving or preservation of a life or lives that would have been lost without help or direct action. Remington Miller, Arkansas Online, 16 July 2022 Organizers are keeping details under wraps for now but say there will be a component of direct action for activists who are willing to risk arrest. Hau Chu, Washington Post, 6 July 2022 Tim DeChristopher, a founder of the Climate Disobedience Center, which supports protesters who engage in nonviolent resistance, told me that, in the 2000s, such direct action was championed mostly by a fringe group of anarchists. New York Times, 26 May 2022 Nevertheless, history has shown that such a group could have more significant internal cultural influence than loosely organized protests that highlight issues but don’t have the leverage to drive the direct action many employees are hoping for. Adario Strange, Quartz, 18 May 2022 This report recommended that the Navy should work to control the rivers in Vietnam and became instrumental in the deployment of SEALs on direct action missions. cincinnati.com, 26 May 2022 This flexibility resulted in a flood of US cargoes being redirected to Europe this past winter in the run-up to and during the initial invasion of Ukraine without the need for direct action by the U.S. government. Baker Institute, Forbes, 2 May 2022 See More
Fox News, 21 July 2022 The protestors were taking part in a direct action organized by Shut Down DC, a group that came together several years ago in response to the youth climate strike movement. Shannon Larson, BostonGlobe.com, 8 July 2022 Mark Edwards, a spokesperson for the Little Rock Police Department, said the award is given for an act that results in the saving or preservation of a life or lives that would have been lost without help or direct action. Remington Miller, Arkansas Online, 16 July 2022 Organizers are keeping details under wraps for now but say there will be a component of direct action for activists who are willing to risk arrest. Hau Chu, Washington Post, 6 July 2022 Tim DeChristopher, a founder of the Climate Disobedience Center, which supports protesters who engage in nonviolent resistance, told me that, in the 2000s, such direct action was championed mostly by a fringe group of anarchists. New York Times, 26 May 2022 Nevertheless, history has shown that such a group could have more significant internal cultural influence than loosely organized protests that highlight issues but don’t have the leverage to drive the direct action many employees are hoping for. Adario Strange, Quartz, 18 May 2022 This report recommended that the Navy should work to control the rivers in Vietnam and became instrumental in the deployment of SEALs on direct action missions. cincinnati.com, 26 May 2022 This flexibility resulted in a flood of US cargoes being redirected to Europe this past winter in the run-up to and during the initial invasion of Ukraine without the need for direct action by the U.S. government. Baker Institute, Forbes, 2 May 2022 See More 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