Definition of OPERATE

operate

Verb

Verb Forms: operated, operating, operates

  • To function, perform a task, or control a machine.
  • direct or control; projects, businesses, etc.
  • perform as expected when applied
  • handle and cause to function
    • "do not operate machinery after imbibing alcohol"
  • perform a movement in military or naval tactics in order to secure an advantage in attack or defense
  • happen
  • keep engaged
  • perform surgery on
    • "The doctors operated on the patient but failed to save his life"
  • To perform a work or labour; to exert power or strength, physical or mechanical; to act.
  • To produce an effect.
  • To produce an effect.
  • To produce an appropriate physical effect; to issue in the result designed by nature; especially (medicine) to take appropriate effect on the human system.
  • To produce an effect.
  • To act or produce an effect on the mind; to exert moral power or influence.
  • To bring about as an effect; to cause.
  • To perform some manual act upon a human body in a methodical manner, and usually with instruments, with a view to restore soundness or health, as in amputation, lithotomy, etc.
  • To deal in stocks or any commodity with a view to speculative profits.
  • To put into, or to continue in, operation or activity; to work.

Examples

  • Could someone explain how this meeting operates?
  • He knew he had to operate with precision to win the Words With Friends tournament.
  • I'm being operated tomorrow.
  • In this town, the garbage removal staff operate between six o'clock at midnight.
  • The police had inside knowledge of how the gang operated.
  • The surgeon had to operate on her heart.
  • to operate a casino
  • to operate a machine
  • to operate a system

Origin / Etymology

From Latin operātus, perfect passive participle of operor (“to work, labor, toil, have effect”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Synonyms

control, engage, function, go, lock, maneuver, manoeuver, manoeuvre, mesh, operate on, run, work

Scrabble Score: 9

operate: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
operate: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
operate: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

operate: valid Words With Friends Word