noun
plural -fects
a change that results when something is done or happens :an event, condition, or state of affairs that is produced by a cause [count]
If something has an effect on something or someone, it changes or influences that thing or person in some way.
[count] :a particular feeling or mood created by something
Something that is done for effect is done in a deliberate way to produce a particular feeling or reaction.
[count] :an image or a sound that is created in television, radio, or movies to imitate something real :special effect
usually plural
[noncount] :the state of something that is actually working or operating
If a law or something like a law takes effect, comes into effect, or goes into effect, it begins to work or to be enforced.
If a drug or something like a drug takes effect, it begins to produce the results it is meant to produce.
To give effect to something or to carry/bring/put something into effect is to make it begin doing what it was intended to do.
effects [plural] :personal property or possessions
in effect
used to say that one thing has the same effect or result as something else
to good effect
If you use something to good/great/fine/outstanding (etc.) effect, you use it in a way that produces good results.
to little/no effect
If something is done to little effect or to no effect, it produces little or no change.
to that effect
or to the effect that - used to indicate that the meaning of words is roughly correct even if the words themselves are not completely accurate
verb
-fects; -fected; -fecting
[+ obj] formal
to cause (something) :to make (something) happen
to cause (something) to produce the desired result
usage seeaffect</USAGER
US