operate
verb/ˈɒpəreɪt/
/ˈɑːpəreɪt/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they operate | /ˈɒpəreɪt/ /ˈɑːpəreɪt/ |
| he / she / it operates | /ˈɒpəreɪts/ /ˈɑːpəreɪts/ |
| past simple operated | /ˈɒpəreɪtɪd/ /ˈɑːpəreɪtɪd/ |
| past participle operated | /ˈɒpəreɪtɪd/ /ˈɑːpəreɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form operating | /ˈɒpəreɪtɪŋ/ /ˈɑːpəreɪtɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] + adv./prep. to work in a particular way synonym function
- Most domestic freezers operate at below −18°C.
- Solar panels can only operate in sunlight.
- (figurative) Some people can only operate well under pressure.
Extra Examples- The equipment was not operating properly.
- The machine can operate for 15 hours continuously at full power.
- Room air conditioners must be installed on a flat surface in order to operate efficiently.
- If hydraulic pressure is lost then a fail safe mechanism operates on the flywheels.
- Heating and cooling systems will operate only between the peak work hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
- The steel belts required lubricants to operate smoothly.
- We do safety checks, making sure the metal detector is operating correctly.
- When the system is operating, the output is 4 kilowatts of cold or 5.3 kilowatts of heat for every kilowatt of electricity.
- (figurative) People learn best when they're operating in a less competitive mode.
- Teachers should not operate on the assumption that all children have access to the internet at home.
- Workplace conflict hampers an organization's ability to operate effectively.
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- [transitive] operate something to use or control a machine or make it work
- What skills are needed to operate this machinery?
- They use a remotely operated camera.
- The doors can be manually operated in the event of fire.
Extra Examples- The machinery is easy to operate.
- Do not operate heavy machinery while taking this medication.
- A licensed driver is permitted by society to operate a vehicle.
- The front windows are electrically operated.
- An experienced pilot was operating the aircraft.
- 21st century lifeboat crews learn to operate hi-tech equipment.
- The teacher operates the camera and attempts to follow the students' storyboards.
- The animals can be trained to operate levers and push buttons in response to flashing lights.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- effectively
- efficiently
- reliably
- …
- be designed to
- be easy to
- [transitive] operate something to manage a business, organization or service
- The airline currently operates flights to 25 countries.
- By last year, the chain was operating 388 stores in 47 states.
- He started and operated a successful technology business.
- The company operates public transport services across the world.
Extra Examples- He won one of three licenses to operate casinos in Macau.
- They operate 32 marketing teams across the country.
- The grill chain operates six restaurants in the Miami area.
- Some plants operate their own testing facilities.
- The company operates a global network of servers.
- Telecom Namibia operates the only public network in Namibia.
- The laboratory is still owned by the government but is now commercially operated.
- [intransitive] + adv./prep. (of a business, organization or service) to work, especially in a particular way or from a particular place
- A new late-night service is now operating.
- They plan to operate from a new office in Edinburgh.
- Retailers operate in a fast-paced environment.
- The business operates on a cooperative basis.
- We operate independently from our sister companies.
Extra Examples- Illegal drinking clubs continue to operate in the city.
- Foreign businesses must wait about five months to get a license to operate.
- A shuttle bus service will operate to and from the showground.
- There are many factors that might affect a firm seeking to operate in a new market.
- Our members operate in areas including marketing, financial services, healthcare and housing.
- The goal of the plant is to operate in a just-in-time manner.
- Local authorities operate within a wider political system.
- The production operated within the ethical constraints imposed by the television network.
- The government does not operate according to fixed rules.
- The industry operates under rigid guidelines.
- At that time, the United States operated under the Meat Import Law of 1964.
- Their household operates on a tight budget.
- The hospital was operating normally.
- The internet harbours pharmacies that operate illegally.
- In wartime, markets do not operate freely.
- These wells have been operating safely for many years.
- Market conditions no longer allowed the company to operate profitably.
- We operate as an advisory service for schools.
- It will continue to operate as a separate company with its own sales and marketing team.
- Multiple similar companies already operate in the same area.
- His clinic operated out of Juarez in Mexico.
- [intransitive, transitive] to be used or working; to use something or make it work
- The regulation operates in favour of married couples.
- He believes that sinister forces are operating.
- operate something France operates a system of subsidized loans to dairy farmers.
Extra Examples- In Germany, the recycling scheme has been operating for several years.
- A waiting list system will operate.
- circumstances in which natural selection is operating
- It has become apparent from the study of these cells there may be more than one mechanism operating.
- These people do not understand how the scientific process operates.
- Consumer law operates on a case-by-case basis.
- This system operates on the principle that lighter soils require less pesticide than darker soils.
- Standardize procedures to ensure the system operates efficiently.
- We like to believe that our legal system operates with scrupulous fairness.
- These people have no understanding of how the system operates, nor access to those who do.
- As described by Freud, the emotions of love and hate operate in a similar manner.
- Great works of art operate on many levels and can be interpreted in many different ways.
- [intransitive] to cut open somebody’s body in order to remove a part that has a disease or to repair a part that is damaged
- Surgeons operated last night.
- operate on somebody/something We will have to operate on his eyes.
- She was operated on the next day.
Extra ExamplesTopics Healthcareb2- Doctors operated for seven hours, amputating his right arm.
- It may be necessary to operate.
- Surgeons often operate during the night, and often after disturbed sleep.
- The surgeon operates to obtain tissue for histological examination.
- Doctors operated on her wrists.
- She died in hospital as surgeons operated on her.
- He was admitted to hospital and his foot was operated on.
- Surgeons operated on him for two hours to remove the blade.
- He will be operated on next week to have his colon removed.
- [intransitive] (+ adv./prep.) to be involved in military activities in a place
- Troops are operating from bases in the north.
machine
business/organization/service
system/process
medical
of soldiers
Word Originearly 17th cent.: from Latin operat- ‘done by labour’, from the verb operari, from opus, oper- ‘work’.
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operate