Meanings
nounaction figure (plural action figures)
plural action figures
- A children's toy in the form of a posable plastic figurine of a character, often from a movie, video game, or television program, with moving parts and often capable of some form of spring-loaded movement. It is used to distinguish from dolls, which have acquired the reputation as a girl's toy, whereas action figures are more marketed toward boys.
Origin
First coined by Hasbro in 1964 to market G.I. Joe.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 可動人偶 /可动人偶
- 可動人偶 /可动人偶 (kědòng rén'ǒu)children's toy
Dutch actiefiguur
- actiefiguurchildren's toy
French figurine d'action, figurine articulée
- figurine d'actionchildren's toy
- figurine articuléechildren's toy
German Action-Figur
- Action-Figurchildren's toy
Icelandic aksjónkall
- aksjónkallchildren's toy
Indonesian figur karakter, boneka aksi
- figur karakterchildren's toy
- boneka aksichildren's toy
Italian figura di azione
- figura di azionechildren's toy
Japanese アクションフィギュア
- アクションフィギュア (akushon figyua)children's toy
Korean 액션 피겨, 인형
- 액션 피겨 (aeksyeon pigyeo)children's toy
- 인형 (inhyeong)children's toy
Malay figura aksi
- figura aksichildren's toy
Portuguese boneco, figura de ação
- bonecochildren's toy
- figura de açãochildren's toy
Spanish figura de acción, muñeco de acción
- figura de acciónchildren's toy
- muñeco de acciónchildren's toy
Swedish actionfigur
- actionfigurchildren's toy
Cite this entry
APA
action figure. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/action%20figure
MLA
“action figure.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/action%20figure. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “action figure,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/action%20figure.
Source: action figure on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.