WordWeb Online

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"; "they paid taxes on every stage of the operation"; "they had to consolidate their operations"
    
3. A planned activity involving many people performing various actions
   "they organized a rescue operation"; "the biggest police operation in French history"; "running a restaurant is quite an operation"; "consolidate the companies various operations"
    
4. (computing) 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. (military) activity by a military or naval force (as a manoeuvre or campaign)
   "it was a joint operation of the navy and air force";
   - military operation, op [informal]
    
6. (surgery) 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";
   - surgery, surgical operation, surgical procedure, surgical process, op [informal]
    
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";
   - procedure
    
8. Process or manner of functioning or operating
   "the power of its engine determines its operation"; "the plane's operation in high winds";
   - functioning, performance
    
9. (psychology) the performance of some composite cognitive activity; an operation that affects mental contents
   "the cognitive operation of remembering";
   - process, cognitive process, mental process, cognitive operation
    
10. (mathematics) calculation by mathematical methods
    "they were learning the basic operations of arithmetic";
    - mathematical process, mathematical operation
     
11. The activity of operating something (a machine or business etc.)
    "her smooth operation of the vehicle gave us a surprisingly comfortable ride"

Derived forms: operations

Type of: action, activeness, activity, business activity, calculation, cognition, commercial activity, computation, computing, data processing, knowledge, medical procedure, noesis, physical process, process, work

Encyclopedia: Operation