operation meaning and definition

OPERATION noun

Definition of operation (noun)

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. (computer science) 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. activity by a military or naval force (as a maneuver or campaign)
   • "it was a joint operation of the navy and air force"
   • synonyms: military operation
6. 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"; "he died while undergoing surgery"
   • synonyms: surgery, surgical operation, surgical procedure, surgical process
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"
   • synonyms: procedure
8. process or manner of functioning or operating
   • "the power of its engine determines its operation"; "the plane's operation in high winds"; "they compared the cooking performance of each oven"; "the jet's performance conformed to high standards"
   • synonyms: functioning, performance
9. (psychology) the performance of some composite cognitive activity; an operation that affects mental contents
   • "the process of thinking"; "the cognitive operation of remembering"
   • synonyms: cognitive operation, cognitive process, mental process, process
10. (mathematics) calculation by mathematical methods
    • "the problems at the end of the chapter demonstrated the mathematical processes involved in the derivation"; "they were learning the basic operations of arithmetic"
    • synonyms: mathematical operation, mathematical process
11. the activity of operating something (a machine or business etc.)
    • "her smooth operation of the vehicle gave us a surprisingly comfortable ride"