Operation meaning

What does “operation” mean? Definitions, examples, synonyms and opposites.

“operation” is a noun with 11 meanings. Its most common meaning is: the state of being in effect or being operative.

operation

noun

  1. the state of being in effect or being operative

    “that rule is no longer in operation”

  2. a business especially one run on a large scale

    “a large-scale farming operation”

    “a multinational operation”

  3. a planned activity involving many people performing various actions

    “they organized a rescue operation”

    “the biggest police operation in French history”

  4. (computer science) data processing in which the result is completely specified by a rule (especially the processing that results from a single instruction)

    “it can perform millions of operations per second”

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

    “it was a joint operation of the navy and air force”

  6. a medical procedure involving an incision with instruments; performed to repair damage or arrest disease in a living body

    “they will schedule the operation as soon as an operating room is available”

    “he died while undergoing surgery”

  7. a process or series of acts especially of a practical or mechanical nature involved in a particular form of work

    “the operations in building a house”

    “certain machine tool operations”

    Synonymsprocedure
  8. process or manner of functioning or operating

    “the power of its engine determines its operation”

    “the plane's operation in high winds”

  9. (psychology) the performance of some composite cognitive activity; an operation that affects mental contents

    “the process of thinking”

    “the cognitive operation of remembering”

  10. (mathematics) calculation by mathematical methods

    “the problems at the end of the chapter demonstrated the mathematical processes involved in the derivation”

    “they were learning the basic operations of arithmetic”

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

    “her smooth operation of the vehicle gave us a surprisingly comfortable ride”

Source: WordNet 3.1, Princeton University