operate
Americanverb (used without object)
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operates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
operated,
past participle, past
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operating
present participle
-
to work, perform, or function, as a machine does.
This engine does not operate properly.
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to work or use a machine, apparatus, or the like.
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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.
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to perform some process of work or treatment.
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Surgery. to perform a surgical procedure.
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(of a drug) to produce the effect intended.
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Military.
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to carry on operations in war.
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to give orders and accomplish military acts, as distinguished from doing staff work.
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to carry on transactions in securities, or some commodity, especially speculatively or on a large scale.
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Informal. to use devious means for one's own gain; insinuate oneself; finagle.
a man who knows how to operate with the ladies.
verb (used with object)
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operates,
present (3rd person singular)
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operated,
past participle, past
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operating
present participle
-
to manage or use (a machine, device, etc.).
Do you know how to operate a forklift?
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to put or keep (a factory, industrial system, ranch, etc.) working or in operation.
to operate a coal mine.
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to bring about, effect, or produce, as by action or the exertion of force or influence.
verb
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to function or cause to function
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(tr) to control the functioning of
operate a machine
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to manage, direct, run, or pursue (a business, system, etc)
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(intr) to perform a surgical operation (upon a person or animal)
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(intr) to produce a desired or intended effect
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to treat or process in a particular or specific way
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(intr) to conduct military or naval operations
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(intr) to deal in securities on a stock exchange
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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reoperateverb (used with object)
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preoperateverb (used without object)
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operatableadjective
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unoperatableadjective
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unoperatedadjective
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well-operatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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operatesimple
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operatessimple
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have operatedperfect
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has operatedperfect
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am operatingprogressive
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are operatingprogressive
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is operatingprogressive
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have been operatingperfect progressive
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has been operatingperfect progressive
Past
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operatedsimple
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had operatedperfect
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was operatingprogressive
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were operatingprogressive
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had been operatingperfect progressive
Future
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”; see -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."
Vocabulary lists containing operate
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Dry bulk ships might also start using it, especially if they can operate with icebreaker escorts.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
In 2016, it became the first American brewer to operate in Germany, The Times has reported.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Pacific Coast Energy is negotiating to operate Venezuelan oil fields that the prominent Cisneros family asserts it rightfully owns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Other transport will continue to operate under strict health controls.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Among the Exosuit’s many advantages is that it can operate efficiently between two hundred and five hundred feet below the surface.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
Tesla currently operates 232 vehicles across Texas, California and Florida, according to a crowd-sourced robotaxi tracker.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
The external advisers will lead five task forces that will re-examine how the central bank operates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
About 14,000 ships per year use the artificial waterway - which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The experiments were conducted in mice, so further research will be necessary to determine whether the same mechanism operates in humans.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
Figuring out how, exactly, to do that is no easy task, however, when your felony record operates to bar you from any public housing assistance.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
If this happens, it would mark a substantial pivot from how American forces have operated in the region post-9/11.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
The Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority shared on X that the group left Loisaba to travel to Ewasonyiro on a Eurocopter, EC130 B4, operated by the charter service company Lady Lori Helicopters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Earlier this year passengers on the Skyla, a ship operated by TUI, contacted BBC Your Voice to say they had been stranded in Budapest during a heatwave with little to no air conditioning.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
The new “Arctic Express” route is being operated by a Chinese company seeking to benefit from melting sea ice and slash the time it takes to move goods from Asia to Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Fairies had not operated in natural light for centuries.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
There is a similar sentiment south of the river at Lala Books, an independent bookshop in Camberwell operating a similar scheme.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
The locations and requirements match four existing GEO-owned facilities where operating contracts are set to expire in the coming months.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
Teng mostly avoids on-camera interviews with her subjects, preferring to watch them interacting with patients or in the operating room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
“What we liked was this was a senior engineering team,” said Rodney Zemmel, global head of Blackstone’s operating team.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
By Christmastime, we were all operating at the edge.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
