operate

American  

[op-uh-reyt] / ˈɒp əˌreɪt /

verb (used without object)

operated, operating

1. to work, perform, or function, as a machine does.

   This engine does not operate properly.

2. to work or use a machine, apparatus, or the like.

3. to act effectively; produce an effect; exert force or influence (often followed by on orupon ).

   Their propaganda is beginning to operate on the minds of the people.

4. to perform some process of work or treatment.

5. Surgery. to perform a surgical procedure.

6. (of a drug) to produce the effect intended.

7. Military.

   1. to carry on operations in war.

   2. to give orders and accomplish military acts, as distinguished from doing staff work.

8. to carry on transactions in securities, or some commodity, especially speculatively or on a large scale.

9. Informal. to use devious means for one's own gain; insinuate oneself; finagle.

   a man who knows how to operate with the ladies.

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verb (used with object)

operated, operating

1. to manage or use (a machine, device, etc.).

   Do you know how to operate a forklift?

2. to put or keep (a factory, industrial system, ranch, etc.) working or in operation.

   to operate a coal mine.

3. to bring about, effect, or produce, as by action or the exertion of force or influence.

operate British  

/ ˈɒpəˌreɪt /

verb

1. to function or cause to function

2. (tr) to control the functioning of

   operate a machine

3. to manage, direct, run, or pursue (a business, system, etc)

4. (intr) to perform a surgical operation (upon a person or animal)

5. (intr) to produce a desired or intended effect

6. to treat or process in a particular or specific way

7. (intr) to conduct military or naval operations

8. (intr) to deal in securities on a stock exchange

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Other Word Forms

• operatable adjective
• preoperate verb (used without object)
• reoperate verb (used with object)
• unoperatable adjective
• unoperated adjective
• well-operated adjective

Etymology

Origin of operate

First recorded in 1600–10; from Late Latin operātus, past participle of operārī, -āre “to work, be efficacious, effect, produce,” Latin: “to busy oneself,” verbal derivative of opera effort, work, akin to opus “work”; -ate ¹

Explanation

You'll want to find a skilled surgeon to operate on your hand. Once your hand is working again, you'll be able to operate your buzz saw with ease. Operate comes from a Latin root related to opus, "work," and it's a verb that can be used for all kinds of work. Your computer can operate smoothly, the lottery can operate successfully, your school can operate a day care center in some vacant classrooms, and you can operate your vehicle in a safe manner. If you're an unshakable optimist, your friends may say you "operate in a dream world."

Example Sentences

The smelter will take at least three years to build and be expected to operate for decades.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

Block chief Jack Dorsey announced plans to cut the company's headcount nearly in half, citing "intelligence tools" that have fundamentally changed how companies operate.

From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026

But across the island, small-scale farmers and cooperatives already operate as private entrepreneurs, growing food, managing their own production and selling to local markets, most of which have been privatized.

From Salon • Apr. 11, 2026

It takes a crew of 18 to create and operate the mobile piece, which dots the desert sky from 4 p.m. to Coachella’s end each night.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

When the Mayflower landed at Cape Cod in 1620, forty-one of the men on board wrote an agreement for how their colony would operate.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Related Words

• achieve
• act
• complete
• conduct
• do
• engage
• keep
• move
• produce
• promote
• run
• serve
• take
• transport
• work