OPERATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does operate mean? 

• OPERATE (verb)
  The verb OPERATE has 6 senses:

1. direct or control; projects, businesses, etc.

2. perform as expected when applied

3. handle and cause to function

4. perform a movement in military or naval tactics in order to secure an advantage in attack or defense

5. keep engaged

6. perform surgery on

  Familiarity information: OPERATE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OPERATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they operate    ... he / she / it operates   
Past simple: operated   
Past participle: operated   
-ing form: operating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Direct or control; projects, businesses, etc.

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

operate; run

Context example:

She is running a relief operation in the Sudan

Hypernyms (to "operate" is one way to...):

direct (be in charge of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "operate"):

financier (conduct financial operations)

work (operate in or through)

block (run on a block system)

warm up (run until the normal working temperature is reached)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

operation (the activity of operating something (a machine or business etc.))

operation (a business especially one run on a large scale)

operator (someone who owns or operates a business)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Perform as expected when applied

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

function; go; operate; run; work

Context example:

This old radio doesn't work anymore

Verb group:

run (be operating, running or functioning)

work (operate in or through)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "operate"):

double (do double duty; serve two purposes or have two functions)

roll (begin operating or running)

run (be operating, running or functioning)

cut (function as a cutting instrument)

serve; service (be used by; as of a utility)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sentence example:

These cars won't operate

Derivation:

operant (having influence or producing an effect)

operation (a process or series of acts especially of a practical or mechanical nature involved in a particular form of work)

operation (process or manner of functioning or operating)

operative ((of e.g. a machine) performing or capable of performing)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Handle and cause to function

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

control; operate

Context example:

control the lever

Hypernyms (to "operate" is one way to...):

manipulate (hold something in one's hands and move it)

Verb group:

control; master (have a firm understanding or knowledge of; be on top of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "operate"):

drive (operate or control a vehicle)

aviate; fly; pilot (operate an airplane)

pedal (operate the pedals on a keyboard instrument)

gate (control with a valve or other device that functions like a gate)

relay (control or operate by relay)

treadle (operate (machinery) by a treadle)

submarine (control a submarine)

turn (alter the functioning or setting of)

dial (operate a dial to select a telephone number)

synchronise; synchronize (operate simultaneously)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

operation (the activity of operating something (a machine or business etc.))

operative ((of e.g. a machine) performing or capable of performing)

operator (an agent that operates some apparatus or machine)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Perform a movement in military or naval tactics in order to secure an advantage in attack or defense

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

maneuver; manoeuver; manoeuvre; operate

Hypernyms (to "operate" is one way to...):

go; move (have a turn; make one's move in a game)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "operate"):

jockey (compete (for an advantage or a position))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something PP
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

operation (activity by a military or naval force (as a maneuver or campaign))

Sense 5

Meaning:

Keep engaged

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

engage; lock; mesh; operate

Context example:

engaged the gears

Hypernyms (to "operate" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "operate"):

flip; switch; throw (cause to go on or to be engaged or set in operation)

ride (keep partially engaged by slightly depressing a pedal with the foot)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

operation (the activity of operating something (a machine or business etc.))

operation (the state of being in effect or being operative)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Perform surgery on

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

operate; operate on

Context example:

The doctors operated on the patient but failed to save his life

Hypernyms (to "operate" is one way to...):

care for; treat (provide treatment for)

Domain category:

medicine; practice of medicine (the learned profession that is mastered by graduate training in a medical school and that is devoted to preventing or alleviating or curing diseases and injuries)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "operate"):

face-lift; lift (perform cosmetic surgery on someone's face)

trephine (operate on with a trephine)

venesect (practice venesection)

desex; desexualise; desexualize; fix; sterilise; sterilize; unsex (make infertile)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Did he operate his foot?

Derivation:

operation (a medical procedure involving an incision with instruments; performed to repair damage or arrest disease in a living body)

operative (relating to or requiring or amenable to treatment by surgery especially as opposed to medicine)

 Context examples 

A device that malfunctions due to a component(s) that does not operate correctly and according to the device's specifications.

(Device Incompatible Component Evaluation Result, Food and Drug Administration)

Occurring or operating at the same time.

(Concurrent, NCI Thesaurus)

We shall operate just above the ear.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Issue associated with difficulty for end-users to operate device, specifically as it relates to the opening or removal of the outer wrapping.

(Difficult to Open or Remove Medical Device Packaging Material, Food and Drug Administration)

Wintertime covers roughly 30 percent of the Earth in a blanket of snow, which means solar panels usually do not operate smoothly in these regions during this season.

(Nanogenerator Creates Electricity from Snowfall, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Additionally, the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Deep Discoverer surveyed biological communities in the area.

(Deep Discoverer Discovers a Very Deep, Ghostlike Octopod, NOAA)

However, the operating voltage is beneficial for safety and the high lithium transport rates mean that when cycling fast, the practical (usable) energy density of these materials remains high.

(New class of materials could be used to make batteries that charge faster, University of Cambridge)

CryoSat-2 primarily captures polar ice data but also operates continuously over the oceans.

(New map uncovers thousands of unseen seamounts on ocean floor, NSF)

Scientists believe Enceladus' hydrothermal vents may operate in the same way, supplying energy that leads to the production of amino acids.

(New Organic Compounds Found in Enceladus Ice Grains, NASA)

This encounter with TC4 is being used by asteroid trackers around the world to test their ability to operate as a coordinated international asteroid warning network.

(Asteroid Tracking Network Observes Close Approach, NASA)