operating room

American  

noun

• operating rooms
  plural

1. a specially equipped room, usually in a hospital, where surgical procedures are performed. OR

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• operating rooms
  plural

Etymology

Origin of operating room

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

operating room

The team was about to take her to the operating room when he was finally able to detach it.

From Salon ● May 27, 2026

"There's a lot of interesting emotional circuits that are deep in the brain, but until now you couldn't manipulate them outside of the operating room."

From Science Daily ● Feb. 4, 2026

"My love has just gone to the operating room," Bolsonaro's wife Michelle said in an Instagram post.

From Barron's ● Dec. 25, 2025

Trolls, spreading AI-generated images, said I was faking it, something I first learned about as I was about to be wheeled into the operating room.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

“Ten,” I say, looking past the anesthesiologist to the operating room wall, my eyes landing on a shape that’s oddly familiar.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott