OPERATION


Meaning of OPERATION in English

I. ˌäpəˈrāshən noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English operacioun, from Middle French operation, from Latin operation-, operatio, from operatus (past participle of operari to work) + -ion, -io -ion — more at operate

1.

a. obsolete : a doing or performing especially of action : work , deed

b. : a doing or performing of a practical work or of something involving practical application of principles or processes often experimentally or as part of a series of actions

the mechanical operations involved in sculpture

practice until you can go through the whole operation without hesitation or thinking

2.

a. : an exertion of power or influence : functioning , working

depending on the operations of the intelligence

the operation of a drug

b. : the quality or state of being functional or operative — usually used with in or into

the plant has been in operation for several weeks

the new line will be put into operation soon

c. : method or manner of functioning

a machine of very simple operation

the operation of the circulation

3.

a. : capacity for action or functioning : efficacy , potency — archaic except in legal usage

b. archaic : result of the action or existence (as of a disease, an activity) : influence

4. obsolete

a. : production , creation

b. : a product of creative activity

5. : actual energy or activity viewed as expressing the agent's nature or natures

the operation of the Holy Spirit

6. : a procedure carried out on a living body for the purpose of altering an existing especially abnormal state or condition by means of instruments (as in surgery) or the hands of a surgeon (as by manipulation of joints) — compare bloodless surgery , electrosurgery

7.

a. : a process whereby one quantity or expression is derived from another or others

b. logic

(1) : transformation

(2) : a function or correlation when conceived as a process of proceeding from one or more entities to another according to a definite rule

c. : the checking of the applicability of a given term or concept to a concrete situation by means of observation and usually manipulation

determining the acidity of a liquid by indicators constitutes an operation

8.

a. : a military or naval action, mission, or maneuver, including its planning and execution — often used in combination with a designating code word

b. operations plural : the office on the flight line of an airfield where pilots file clearances for flights and which controls flying from the field

c. operations plural : the staff agency (as in a United States air headquarters) for transacting the principal planning and operating functions of a headquarters and its subordinate units

9.

a. : a business transaction especially when speculative

continued his operations in cotton futures

b. : the whole process of planning for and operating a business or other organized unit

the operation of a large household

the operation of a steel mill

c. : a phase of a business or of business activity

the new forge shop has proved a valuable addition to our operations

10. : the operating of or putting and maintaining in action of something (as a machine or an industry)

careful operation of a motor car

problems in the operation of a railroad

II. noun

: a single step performed by a computer in the execution of a program

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.