operation

American  

[op-uh-ray-shuhn] / ˌɒp əˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

• operations
  plural

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 British  

/ 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 Scientific  

/ ŏp′ə-rā′shən /

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• operations
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of operation

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; see origin at operate

---

Explanation

Operation can refer to medical surgery, a military campaign, or mathematical methods, such as multiplication and division. Operation comes from the Latin word opus (“work”) and can refer to a whole range of practical activities and work. In driver's education, you learn the proper operation of a motor vehicle. If you’re going to make your lemonade franchise a success, you’re going to have to learn the rules for prudent operation of a business — how to run it — and you’ll also have to figure out the operation of a lemon squeezer.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

operation operations

Despite the rescue operation, tragically, five of the belugas have since died, as well as one dolphin.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Drivers typically work three weeks and then take a week off, meaning a truck is only in operation 75% of the time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

That spurred an international rescue operation by several aquariums, leading to the largest ever transfer of captive whales this summer.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

It is unclear why the vessel was in the area or whether it was part of a human smuggling operation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Under President Eisenhower, the military and CIA had begun planning a far more ambitious operation to get rid of Fidel Castro—a full-blown invasion of Cuba.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Pepsi needs to stop tinkering and consider more fundamental changes, including a spinoff of its bottling operations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

But when the Canadian government rejected its plan to sell them to China over concerns about animal welfare, the park's operations said they would have to be euthanised.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

It described his operations as "a 'business-as-security' model unprecedented in the region".

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Recognizing its importance to Germany's nuclear ambitions, Allied forces targeted the plant through sabotage and bombing operations.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

“There will be no business operations at this party, Gabriella.”

From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

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

---