Document and Entity Information - $ / shares	6 Months Ended
	Feb. 28, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Aug. 31, 2016
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Feb. 28, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
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		59,682,865
Common Class A
Document Information [Line Items]
Common Stock, Par or Stated Value Per Share	$ 0.2		$ 0.2
Common Stock, Shares Authorized	168,000,000		168,000,000
Common Stock, Shares, Issued	80,063,210		79,393,393