Etimology
From Middle French activité, from Latin activitas. Equivalent to active + -ity.
noun
activity (countable and uncountable, plural activities)
(uncountable) The state or quality of being active; activeness.
(countable) Something done as an action or a movement.
(countable) Something done for pleasure or entertainment, especially one involving movement or an excursion.
(grammar, semantics) The lexical aspect (aktionsart) of verbs or predicates that change over time and have no natural end point.
(physics) The number of radioactive decays per unit time. Unit for it: becquerel or curie
The property of substances to react with other substances
Examples
Pit row was abuzz with activity.
The activity for the morning was a walk to the store.
An increasing number of sports activities are on offer at the university.
Quilting can be an enjoyable activity.
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.
[…] 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.
Related words
synonyms
See also Thesaurus:activity
antonyms
rest
passivity