operate

Everyday

1. To operate a machine is to make it work or control it. tree →
2. To operate means to work or run: The buses operate every ten minutes. tree →
3. A doctor operates when he or she cuts into a patient's body to fix something. tree →
4. To operate means to run a business or organisation. tree →
5. In old tales, to operate can mean to use magic or secret power to make something happen. tree →

In the lessons

In maths, operations are adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing; you operate on numbers. In everyday life machines, lifts and trains operate. In hospitals surgeons operate. In safety lessons only adults should operate dangerous machines. Phrases: operate on (a patient), easy to operate.

Examples

• Only an adult should operate the lawnmower. tree →
• The trains operate every fifteen minutes. tree →
• The doctor had to operate on her knee. tree →
• How do you operate this remote control? tree →
• The shop operates seven days a week. tree →
• The robot is operated by a computer. tree →
• Choose the right operation: add or multiply? tree →
• The bagpiper announced that he would operate that very evening when the moon rose. tree →

Note

Regular verb. Nouns: operation (in maths: +, −, ×, ÷; in hospital: surgery), operator (the person who works a machine). Doctors «operate on» a person, not «operate» a person.