Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Feb. 28, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015
Document Documentand Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Feb. 28, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Trading Symbol	ATU
Entity Registrant Name	ACTUANT CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000006955
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--08-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		59,559,185