verb · 15 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˈɒpəɹeɪt/
General-American:/ˈɑpəɹeɪt/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɒpəɹeɪt
CMU ARPABET:AA1 P ER0 EY2 T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:AO1 P ER0 EY2 T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
verb
Meaning 1
To perform a work or labour; to exert power or strength, physical or mechanical; to act.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive, transitive
Examples
Could someone explain how this meeting operates?
In this town, the garbage removal staff operate between six o'clock at midnight.
The police had inside knowledge of how the gang operated.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
verb
Meaning 2
To produce an effect.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
verb
Meaning 3
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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
verb
Meaning 4
To produce an effect.
To act or produce an effect on the mind; to exert moral power or influence.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
verb
Meaning 5
To bring about as an effect; to cause.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
verb
Meaning 6
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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive, transitive
Topics: medicine, sciences
Examples
The surgeon had to operate on her heart.
I'm being operated tomorrow.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
verb
Meaning 7
To deal in stocks or any commodity with a view to speculative profits.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
verb
Meaning 8
To put into, or to continue in, operation or activity; to work.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
to operate a machine
to operate a system
to operate a casino
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
9
verb
Meaning 9
perform surgery on
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
The doctors operated on the patient but failed to save his life
