What does "operate" mean?
To perform a work or labour; to exert power or strength, physical or mechanical; to act.
Operate
/ˈɒpəɹeɪt/ verb
verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To perform a work or labour; to exert power or strength, physical or mechanical; to act.
- Grammar: operate is listed as verb.
- Nearest alternatives: control, function, run, ability to work.
- Useful contrasts: broken, notworks, break down.
- Usage evidence: The engineer demonstrated how to operate the sophisticated system.
How to use "operate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "operate" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "operate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "operate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "operate" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "operate" is acting as verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "control" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "operate", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To perform a work or labour; to exert power or strength, physical or mechanical; to act. intransitive, transitive
"Could someone explain how this meeting operates?"
- 2 perform surgery on wordnet
- 3 To produce an effect. intransitive
"We live our lives in three dimensions for our threescore and ten allotted years. Yet every branch of contemporary science, from statistics to cosmology, alludes to processes that operate on scales outside of human experience: the millisecond and the nanometer, the eon and the light-year."
- 4 perform a movement in military or naval tactics in order to secure an advantage in attack or defense wordnet
- 5 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. intransitive
"The drug operates by facilitating the negative neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), resulting in the blocking of neural long-term potentiation."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 handle and cause to function wordnet
- 7 To produce an effect.; To act or produce an effect on the mind; to exert moral power or influence. intransitive
"The Virtues of private Perſons, how Bright and Exemplary ſoever, operate but on Few; on thoſe only who are near enough to obſerve, and inclin'd to imitate them: their ſphere of Action is narrow, and their Influence is confin'd to it."
- 8 keep engaged wordnet
- 9 To bring about as an effect; to cause. transitive
"Strictures upon style, which are for the most part good, but time has operated a change in many respects even since he wrote."
- 10 perform as expected when applied wordnet
- 11 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. intransitive, transitive
"The surgeon had to operate on her heart."
- 12 direct or control; projects, businesses, etc. wordnet
- 13 To deal in stocks or any commodity with a view to speculative profits. intransitive, transitive
- 14 To put into, or to continue in, operation or activity; to work. transitive
"to operate a machine"
Example
"The engineer demonstrated how to operate the sophisticated system."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "operate"?
Common synonyms include: control, function, run, ability to work, act, acts.
How do you use "operate" in a sentence?
The engineer demonstrated how to operate the sophisticated system.
How do you pronounce "operate"?
Pronounced /ˈɒpəɹeɪt/.
Etymology
From Latin operātus, perfect passive participle of operor (“to work, labor, toil, have effect”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).