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operation

operation

317 3.7
A business that makes or sells goods, often large
  • noun
  • /ˌɑːpəˈreɪʃən/
: empresa
  • With the expansion into international markets, the company has significantly increased its operations overseas.
  • a business operation
  • daily operations
  • plant operations

You have to build high tech mines, mining operations now, so to speak.

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Examples

  • The firm streamlined its operations to improve efficiency and reduce costs across all departments.

  • Labor demands for the technified system are greater, with standardized operations homogenizing practices across borders.

    Academic text (1999)
  • If any time I have heat, I can quickly move my whole operation within a matter of hours.

  • The learning commons has extended its hours of operation to allow more access to its physical space.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Under his leadership, ESEERCO grew into a $20 million operation by the early '90s.

    Academic text (2011)
  • First of all, we've created a highly efficient operation and we enforce strong fiscal controls.

  • Amazon.com, Inc.'s assumption of sales tax collection duties coincided with the operation of a new distribution facility.

    Academic text (2017)
  • PARC took a unique approach to rinderpest elimination by integrating its operations with other vital services.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona: Due to population growth in the area, the operation has outgrown its cocomposting digester.

    Academic text (1999)
  • As a large organization, its operations require careful planning and coordination to meet customer demands.

Synonyms

company
vsoperation
∞ 1.0

A business that makes and sells things or offers services for money

is used especially for larger, more extensive commercial organizations
business
vsoperation
∞ 1.0

A company or shop and the people who work there

is focused on larger, organized enterprises rather than any small one
large corporation
vsoperation
35 2.7

A very large company that does business in many countries

is the general term used for such organizations even when smaller
org
vsoperation
  • Informal
16 4.0

A group of people who work together for a shared purpose

refers specifically to a commercial group usually on a large scale and organized
business organization
vsoperation
5 2.9

A group that sells things or provides services and has people working in it

is the same concept but stresses large-scale organization rather than legal form
2 3.5

A place where people sell things or offer services, like a shop

means the whole enterprise rather than just the physical site

Idioms

27 3.2

Working now and serving its purpose

Compounds

A planned action by armed forces to achieve a goal

A secret action by a government or army to avoid being noticed

A secret police plan to trick people so they commit a crime and get arrested

Organized effort to save people who are trapped or in danger

Secret work by police or agents who hide their identity to gather evidence

A US-led military attack in 1991 that quickly forced Iraq's army out of Kuwait

13 4.9

A secret activity by a government to gather information about an enemy or threat

A military mission to stop fighting and make an area calm between groups or countries

7 5.7

Medical treatment with surgery and hormones that helps a person live as a different gender

4 8.4

A military action that tries to change what people think or feel

4 7.7

A secret activity planned and done to stay hidden, often by spies or soldiers

4 8.4

A secret action that hides who did it, often for political or military reasons

surgical operation
  • Specialized
3 3.0

A medical treatment where a doctor makes a cut to fix, remove, or replace a part of the body

strategic operation
  • Specialized
2 7.0

A carefully planned military action to reach long-term goals

amphibious operation
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A military action that lands soldiers from ships onto a shore

eye operation
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A surgery on the eye to fix vision or treat eye problems

combined operation
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A military action done together by two or more allied countries using land, sea, and air forces

computer operation
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A basic action a computer does, like adding or comparing numbers

1 3.2

A calculation in math like adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing numbers

1 6.8

A calculation that uses numbers with decimals often done by a computer

A business or group that is small and badly run

overt operation
  • Specialized
1 5.5

An activity by military or intelligence groups done openly, not secretly

real-time operation
  • Specialized
1 3.8

Handling data fast enough to keep up with things as they happen

A police action in which officers pretend to buy illegal drugs to arrest sellers

arithmetic operation
  • Specialized
1 3.3

A calculation with numbers like adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing

operation code
  • Specialized
1 5.0

A part of a computer instruction that tells the computer what to do

1 4.2

An action that follows fixed rules to give true or false results

binary operation
  • Specialized
1 6.5

A rule that combines two values into one result, like addition or AND

cognitive operation
  • Specialized
1 6.4

A mental process that changes information, like thinking or remembering

Actions that follow one another in a fixed order

concurrent operation
  • Specialized
1 5.6

Two or more actions that happen at the same time

Two or more things working at the same time

1 9.9

An attack where someone blows themselves up to kill or hurt others for a cause

matrix operation
  • Specialized
1 5.9

A calculation that uses matrices like adding or multiplying them

1 7.0

An action that runs without waiting for other tasks so the program keeps working

serial operation
  • Specialized
1 6.0

Tasks happen one after another, each starting after the last finishes

control operation
  • Specialized
1 5.8

An action that starts, changes, or stops a device working with data

logic operation
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A rule that combines true and false values like AND or OR

1 9.9

An attack in which a person kills or injures others and also dies, usually using a bomb

machine operation
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A basic task a computer or machine does as part of its program

A planned military action with clear goals that is often secret

Boolean operation
  • Specialized
1 5.7

A rule that uses true and false inputs to give a true or false result like AND, OR, NOT

monadic operation
  • Specialized
1 9.4

A math or programming action that takes only one input, like negation

off-line operation
  • Specialized
1 6.4

An action done by equipment not connected to or controlled by the main computer

parallel operation
  • Specialized
1 4.9

Doing more than one task at the same time on computers or machines

consecutive operation
  • Specialized
1 6.2

A series of tasks done one after another without overlap

A large American attack in World War I that helped push back German soldiers

4.2

An operation with two inputs that gives a true or false result

dyadic operation
  • Specialized
8.8

A way of combining two things to give one result

auxiliary operation
  • Specialized
7.9

A task performed by equipment outside the main computer, for example a printer or external drive

9.9

A secret action to take someone to safety from a dangerous area

9.0

A secret action to send data out of a computer or network to steal it

fixed-cycle operation
  • Specialized
6.7

An action that runs for a set number of regular time steps in machines or computers

majority operation
  • Specialized
8.7

A rule that gives 1 when more than half the inputs are 1 and 0 otherwise

multiplex operation
  • Specialized
7.0

A way of doing two or more tasks at the same time by sharing resources

An action a computer does to make paper copies of a document

9.6

An operation that sews the lower part of the womb closed during pregnancy to prevent early birth

rescue operation
  • Specialized
3.6

Organized effort to recover data and restart computer systems after a computer attack or failure

Actions that police or soldiers take to stop and control a violent crowd during a riot

synchronous operation
  • Specialized
5.9

An operation that follows a regular clock so events happen at expected times

threshold operation
  • Specialized
6.6

A process that checks values against a set level and marks which values meet it

tin-pot operation
  • Offensive
7.9

A small badly run business or group that seems unimportant

Shirodkar's operation
  • Specialized
9.9

A surgical operation that puts a stitch around the cervix to stop it opening too early in pregnancy

A training activity where soldiers rehearse battle actions in realistic conditions without real fighting

unary operation
  • Specialized
7.4

A math or computer action that uses one value

How Big

multinational
14 3.9
corporation
904 3.7
operation
317 3.7
company
∞ 1.0
enterprise
323 3.8
small businessman
  • Canadian
12 2.8

Surface Forms

operation singular
operations plural

Morphology

operation = operate (semi-transparent) = operate + ion

The business sense ('a large operation') is a metonymic extension from 'the activities that are operated', so while related to 'operate' it is a conventionalized noun use.

Etymology

Operation comes from Latin operari, meaning 'to work', so a business can be called an operation because it is an organised place of 'work'.