act something ↔ out phrasal verb ( see also ↑ act )
1 . if a group of people act out an event, they show how it happened by pretending to be the people who were involved in it:
The children were acting out the story of the birth of Jesus.
2 . to express your feelings about something through your behaviour or actions, especially when you have been feeling angry or nervous:
These teenagers are likely to act out their distress by running away.