operation

[op-uh-rey-shuhn]

noun

1. an act or instance, process, or manner of functioning or operating.

2. the state of being operative (usually preceded by in orinto ).

   a rule no longer in operation.

3. the power to act; efficacy, influence, or force.

4. the exertion of force, power, or influence; agency.

   the operation of alcohol on the mind.

5. a process of a practical or mechanical nature in some form of work or production.

   a delicate operation in watchmaking.

6. a course or procedure of productive or industrial activity.

   building operations.

7. a particular process or course.

   mental operations.

8. a business transaction, especially one of a speculative nature; deal.

   a shady operation.

9. a business, especially one run on a large scale.

   a multinational operation.

10. Surgery.,  a procedure aimed at restoring or improving the health of a patient, as by correcting a malformation, removing diseased parts, implanting new parts, etc.

11. Mathematics.

    1. a mathematical process, as addition, multiplication, or differentiation.

    2. the action of applying a mathematical process to a quantity or quantities.

12. Computers.,  any discrete activity or action that is performed by a computer, as reading, writing, processing, sending, or receiving data.

    The http request operation has timed out.

13. Military.

    1. a campaign, mission, maneuver, or action.

    2. Usually operations the conduct of a campaign, mission, etc.

    3. operations, a headquarters, office, or place from which a military campaign, air traffic to and from an airfield, or any of various other activities, is planned, conducted, and controlled.

    4. operations, the people who work at such a headquarters.

operation

/ ˌɒpəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act, process, or manner of operating

2. the state of being in effect, in action, or operative (esp in the phrases in or into operation )

3. a process, method, or series of acts, esp of a practical or mechanical nature

4. surgery any manipulation of the body or one of its organs or parts to repair damage, arrest the progress of a disease, remove foreign matter, etc

5. 1. a military or naval action, such as a campaign, manoeuvre, etc

   2. ( capital and prenominal when part of a name )

      Operation Crossbow

6. maths

   1. any procedure, such as addition, multiplication, involution, or differentiation, in which one or more numbers or quantities are operated upon according to specific rules

   2. a function from a set onto itself

7. a commercial or financial transaction

operation

1. Medicine,  A surgical procedure for remedying an injury, ailment, defect, or dysfunction.

2. Mathematics,  A process or action, such as addition, substitution, transposition, or differentiation, performed in a specified sequence and in accordance with specific rules.

3. A logical operation.

4. Computer Science,  An action resulting from a single instruction.

Other Word Forms

• misoperation noun
• preoperation noun
• reoperation noun
• suboperation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of operation¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English operacioun, oparacion, operation, from Latin operātiōn- (stem of operātiō ), equivalent to operāt(us) + -iōn- noun suffix of action or condition; operate

Example Sentences

Local police say a major operation is under way in the small town.

From BBC

In the absence of funding as it winds down operations, Marineland has now said it may have to put the belugas to sleep, according to the New York Times and CBC News.

From BBC

In one of the film’s most charged moments, Peck turns Orwell’s warning about political language into a montage of modern euphemisms: “peacekeeping operations,” “collateral damage,” “illegals” — and then, pointedly, “antisemitism 2024.”

From Los Angeles Times

They employ quite a few mustangs at their guest ranch operation in the town of Bridgeport, including Jethro, a friendly brown fella with a splash of white on his forehead.

From Los Angeles Times

After his office took on responsibility for the county’s Emergency Operations Center after Woolsey, he said, that operation now activates sooner, based on threats, rather than after a disaster has taken place.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• action 
• activity 
• affair 
• agency 
• application 
• deal 
• effort 
• enterprise 
• exercise 
• force 
• movement 
• procedure 
• process 
• service 
• transaction 
• trip 
• use 
• work