Document and Entity Information - $ / shares	9 Months Ended
	May 31, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Aug. 31, 2017
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	May 31, 2018
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
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		60,895,118
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	81,136,242		80,200,110