ACT
Abbreviation with 6 meanings
| Stands for | ACT (originally American College Testing) |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 6 |
| Categories | Education & Academia, Geography & Places, Science & Engineering, Medical |
ACT has six meanings. The most common are ACT (originally American College Testing) (standardized test) and Australian Capital Territory (Australian state and territory); it can also stand for Acceptance and commitment therapy, Activated clotting time, Assertive community treatment and Artemisinin-based combination therapy.
Meanings of ACT at a glance
| # | ACT stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ACT (originally American College Testing) | Education & Academia › Standardized Test |
| 2 | Australian Capital Territory | Geography & Places › Australian State and Territory |
| 3 | Acceptance and commitment therapy | Science & Engineering › Psychology |
| 4 | Activated clotting time | Medical › Laboratory Test |
| 5 | Assertive community treatment | Medical › Mental Health & Psychiatry |
| 6 | Artemisinin-based combination therapy | Medical › Drug Class |
1. ACT (originally American College Testing)
Education & Academia · Standardized Test Abbreviations
College admission test accepted by virtually all US four-year colleges, scored from 1 to 36 in English, math, reading and an optional science section. Since the 2025 "enhanced ACT" changes, the composite averages English, math and reading only, and the core test lasts about 125 minutes, roughly 50 minutes shorter than before.
Example: The scholarship requires an ACT composite of at least 30 or an equivalent SAT score.
Founded in 1959 by University of Iowa professor E. F. Lindquist as a rival to the SAT, the organization now uses only the initials. The changes reached online testers in April 2025 and all national test dates in September 2025; students who take science also receive a STEM score. Many states give the ACT free to all juniors as their accountability test.
2. Australian Capital Territory
Geography & Places · Australian State and Territory Abbreviations
Federal territory created in 1911 to hold the national capital, Canberra, which was purpose-built after a 1912 international design competition won by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. ACT postcodes are mainly 2600 to 2618 and 2900 to 2920.
Example: Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600, is open to visitors most days.
The ACT has its own Legislative Assembly with self-government since 1989. Do not confuse it with the ACT college admission test in the United States. The territory is entirely surrounded by New South Wales; Jervis Bay Territory on the coast is a separate federal territory.
3. Acceptance and commitment therapy
Science & Engineering · Psychology Abbreviations · also used in medicine
Form of psychotherapy that encourages people to accept difficult thoughts and feelings rather than fight them, to notice thoughts without being ruled by them, and to commit to actions guided by personal values. ACT is used for anxiety, depression, chronic pain and stress.
Example: Through ACT he learned to let anxious thoughts pass while still going to job interviews.
Steven Hayes and colleagues developed ACT in the 1980s, grounded in relational frame theory, a behavioral account of language. Pronounced as the word "act," not as letters. It belongs to the "third wave" of cognitive behavioral therapies that emphasize mindfulness and acceptance.
4. Activated clotting time
Medical · Laboratory Test Abbreviations
Bedside whole-blood clotting test used to monitor high-dose heparin during cardiopulmonary bypass, cardiac catheterization, ECMO and vascular surgery, where heparin levels exceed the measurable range of the aPTT. Normal values are roughly 70 to 120 seconds, and bypass teams typically keep the ACT above about 400 to 480 seconds.
Example: ACT 512 seconds; okay to go on bypass.
Results come within minutes from a cartridge device in the operating room or cath lab. Values differ between devices and activators (kaolin versus celite), so each program sets its own targets. The ACT is rechecked after protamine is given at the end of cardiac surgery to confirm that heparin has been reversed.
5. Assertive community treatment
Medical · Mental Health & Psychiatry Abbreviations
Intensive, team-based model that delivers psychiatric care, case management, housing help and rehabilitation directly in the community, around the clock, for people with serious mental illness who have repeated hospitalizations or homelessness. Teams have small caseloads, often about one staff member per ten clients.
Example: Referred to ACT team after 4 hospitalizations this year; home visits 3 times weekly.
The model was developed by Leonard Stein and Mary Ann Test in Madison, Wisconsin, in the 1970s, where it was called the Program for Assertive Community Treatment (PACT). Studies show it reduces hospital use and homelessness. Forensic ACT (FACT) teams serve people involved with the justice system. Spoken as letters, unlike acceptance and commitment therapy.
6. Artemisinin-based combination therapy
Medical · Drug Class Abbreviations
First-line treatment for uncomplicated falciparum malaria, pairing a fast-acting artemisinin derivative with a longer-acting partner drug, for example artemether-lumefantrine (Coartem) or artesunate-amodiaquine.
Example: Uncomplicated P. falciparum: ACT artemether-lumefantrine 4 tablets BID x 3 days with fatty food.
The WHO has recommended ACTs as first-line therapy since 2006, and Coartem was approved in the US in 2009. Artemisinin was discovered by Chinese scientist Tu Youyou, who shared the 2015 Nobel Prize. Partial artemisinin resistance has emerged in Southeast Asia and, more recently, East Africa. In other medical fields ACT also means activated clotting time.
Related abbreviations
More standardized test abbreviations
- A level – Advanced Level
- ACCESS – Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State…
- AFQT – Armed Forces Qualification Test
- AICE – Advanced International Certificate of Education
- AP – Advanced Placement
- AS level – Advanced Subsidiary level
- ASVAB – Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery
- ATAR – Australian Tertiary Admission Rank
See all 106 standardized test abbreviations →
More Australian state and territory abbreviations
- FNQ – Far North Queensland
- NSW – New South Wales
- NT – Northern Territory
- QLD – Queensland
- SA – South Australia
- SEQ – South East Queensland
- TAS – Tasmania
- VIC – Victoria
See all 10 Australian state and territory abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.