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operate

[op-uh-reyt]

verb (used without object)

to work, perform, or function, as a machine does: This engine does not operate properly.

to work or use a machine, apparatus, or the like.

to act effectively; produce an effect; exert force or influence (often followed by on or upon): Their propaganda is beginning to operate on the minds of the people.

to perform some process of work or treatment.

Surgery. to perform a surgical procedure.

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(of a drug) to produce the effect intended.

Military.

to carry on operations in war.

to give orders and accomplish military acts, as distinguished from doing staff work.

to carry on transactions in securities, or some commodity, especially speculatively or on a large scale.

Informal. to use devious means for one's own gain; insinuate oneself; finagle: a man who knows how to operate with the ladies.

COLLAPSE

verb (used with object)

10.

to manage or use (a machine, device, etc.): to operate a switchboard.

11.

to put or keep (a factory, industrial system, ranch, etc.) working or in operation: to operate a coal mine.

12.

to bring about, effect, or produce, as by action or the exertion of force or influence.

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Operate is one of our favorite verbs.

So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:

to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.

to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.

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Origin:
1600–10; < Late Latin operātus, past participle of operārī, -āre to work, be efficacious, effect, produce, Latin: to busy oneself, verbal derivative of opera effort, work, akin to opus work; see -ate¹

Related forms

op·er·at·a·ble, adjective

pre·op·er·ate, verb (used without object), -at·ed, -at·ing.

re·op·er·ate, verb (used with object), -at·ed, -at·ing.

un·op·er·at·a·ble, adjective

un·op·er·at·ed, adjective

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well-op·er·at·ed, adjective

COLLAPSE

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To operate

Example Sentences

Charter schools operate with thousands of dollars less per student than traditional public schools, according to a new study.

Yet these disciplines are fractionated and operate largely independently.

So far, it is not clear exactly how the new system will operate.

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Charter schools operate with thousands of dollars less per student than traditional public schools, according to a new study.

Yet these disciplines are fractionated and operate largely independently.

So far, it is not clear exactly how the new system will operate.

But they can't drive and operate weather equipment at the same time.

The engine can operate for weeks at a time and so reach high velocities.

In cricket, two bowlers and two batsmen operate in tandem.

More sophisticated timers operate on batteries or household current.

It makes me want to be able to operate earth moving equipment.

And some voyages that once began and ended in different cruise ports now operate out of one city round.

Denham, the college's president, acknowledged that the school was doing well and could operate independently of the college.

These forces simply operate over ultra-long cycles and are mitigated for periods of time by the existence of patents.

The smallest unit of living matter that can operate independently.

When real brains operate in the real world, it's a two-way street.

Manor doth operate a clinic at the barbershoppe to provide physic and the healing artes to all residents.

Pushing the button to operate the slideout, expanding walls that zoom out to.

The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a modern society and economy.

They tend to get generous tax breaks, and in return they must operate in the open, making their yearly.

Some comprehensive college-sponsored health plans essentially operate as large employer-sponsored plans.

Many regiments could not operate without the foreigners.

The efficiency varies with how much power it takes to operate the unit.

In contrast to the precisely controlled experiments described above, a typical driver does not operate under ideal conditions.

The units would operate best at low humidity and would be best deployed in deserts.

Commission has said the handsets lack tracking numbers and often don't have valid radio frequencies they can operate on.

State laws that generally ban casino gambling do not apply to boats that operate more than three miles offshore.

Such efforts run operate on a purely commercial and entrepreneurial basis.

Blimps often operate beyond the range of machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

Another option is plasma engines, which operate using super-heated gas as fuel.

Instead of relying on water pressure, hydrokinetic turbines operate on the energy of the available current.

Everything from navigation to communication to intelligence satellites operate in space.

With an eye on hacker-minded researchers who operate on small budgets and in their free.

Others are also open clubs, but operate once or twice a week.

Dexterity: fine manipulation sufficient to operate a keyboard, handle individual papers, write and take notes.

Colonies operate through organised co-operation and task-sharing.

Only three such diversions currently operate in the state.

Whether they operate in lakes, rivers or the oceans, projects attempting to harness the tides share the same mission:.

It shakes out the little guy who is identifiable and the big criminals continue to operate.

Most of the price is for the laptop he used to operate the system.

Sebelius can sign contracts with states to operate insurance pools meeting federal standards.

Thanks to social media-Facebook and all the rest of it-they're finding they can operate at the same speed as scientists".

In practical terms this means having access to the secret computer codes required to operate the plane and fire its weapons.

But in the future some robots will need to operate beyond the reach of power grids, sunlight, or helping human hands.

Nuclear power plants are expensive to build but provide a low cost to operate over the life of the plant, once it is in service.

Old traffic circles are not as safe and operate completely differently from modern roundabout designs.

It's a new idea: a permanent set of instructions on how the computer should operate.

My father wouldn't try to operate on someone's heart but he is willing to make up aesthetics that don't exist.

It is also designed to be simple to operate using a touch-screen and pictorial instructions, so the need for training is minimal.

The settings above enable the site to operate correctly.

It is easy to damage the unfertilized egg and hard to get the donated nucleus to operate in concert with its new host.

We will have to make an effort to allow robots to operate more autonomously.

Who they are, what they believe, and how they operate is a growing concern among members of this evolving field.

Unfortunately, because they lack fixed wings to help provide lift, they are also expensive to operate.

Ruit and his team operate on more than one thousand people in only six days.

The cranes will also employ radioactivity monitors as well as cameras to help remotely operate the tools.

The polar-orbiting craft was not constantly pointed at earth and could only operate in daylight, so coverage was not continuous.

They continue to operate many exchange programs in order to strengthen international relations.

For safety, it may well be necessary to have them operate using the technology for pilotless vehicles.

Rodrmguez captured the photograph using motion sensors and an infrared barrier to operate the camera.

People are already working on tech that will allow us to operate computers merely with our own gestures.

For now the robots operate primarily as a form of mobile video telephone allowing patients and doctors to communicate.

If a firm in the for-profit private sector tried to operate this way, they would be broke within a couple of years.

They operate across many countries and sell into many different economies.

Birds' wings operate almost as if they were airplane wings on hinges.

Currently, almost all buildings are only reactive, and a large fraction operate with unrecognized faults.

We begin by removing the back of the radio, and seeing how the controls operate.

The budget savings are expected to come from eliminating vacant positions and ceasing to operate the buildings.

Funds have made some changes to the way they operate since they ploughed money into the banks.

The computer is necessary to operate the station's maneuvering thrusters, which help keep it in proper alignment with the sun.

Users are permitted to operate an unrestricted number of nodes.

Chinese manufacturers are well aware that they operate in one of the few large markets that is still showing a pulse.

Operate the dishwasher and washing machine only when fully loaded.

The programme is aimed helping the country to operate independently after coalition forces leave.

Host pairs also operate a more subtle form of discrimination.

Financial markets do not operate in the same way as those for other goods and services.

With no clouds and no nighttime, a space-based solar power station could operate continuously.

Not all x-ray scanning equipment operate as described in this article.

If the regime benefits from your presence it will continue to operate as it does.

Farmers and others who rise before dawn may have to operate in the dark a while longer before daybreak.

Still, building a machine that can operate in microgravity around humans but without human control was a unique challenge.

Church members also own and operate a number of large businesses, from hotels to tool and machine manufacturers.

It is programmed to operate independently and can determine when to point its solar panel towards the sun.

Ahmed sang the necessary praises to the leaders and continued to operate.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

operate (ˈɒpəˌreɪt)

—vb (usually foll by on)
1.	to function or cause to function
2.	(tr) to control the functioning of: operate a machine
3.	to manage, direct, run, or pursue (a business, system, etc)
4.	(intr) to perform a surgical operation (upon a person or animal)
5.	(intr) to produce a desired or intended effect
6.	to treat or process in a particular or specific way
7.	(intr) to conduct military or naval operations
8.	(intr) to deal in securities on a stock exchange

[C17: from Latin operāri to work]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

operate

c.1600, "to be in effect," from L. operari "to work, labor" (in L.L. "to have effect, be active, cause"); see operation. Surgical sense is first attested 1799. Meaning "to work machinery" is from 1864 in Amer.Eng. Operating system in the computer sense is from 1961.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

operate op·er·ate (ŏp'ə-rāt')
v. op·er·at·ed, op·er·at·ing, op·er·ates
To perform surgery.

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Matching Quote

"It is not enough for theory to describe and analyse, it must itself be an event in the universe it describes. In order to do this theory must partake of and become the acceleration of this logic. It must tear itself from all referents and take pride only in the future. Theory must operate on time at the cost of a deliberate distortion of present reality."

-Jean Baudrillard

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