operation
[noun]
Synonyms: procedure, action, course, exercise, motion, movement, performance, process

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English Thesaurus: operation, procedure, transplant, surgery, plastic surgery, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

op‧e‧ra‧tion S1 W1 /ˌɒpəˈreɪʃən $ ˌɑːp-/ noun
[Word Family: noun: operation, cooperation, operative, cooperative, operator; adjective: operational, operative, cooperative ≠ uncooperative; verb: operate, cooperate; adverb: operationally, cooperatively]

1. MEDICAL [countable] the process of cutting into someone’s body to repair or remove a part that is damaged
operation on
She’s going to need an operation on her ankle.
operation for
an operation for cancer
operation to do something
He had an operation to reduce the swelling in his brain.

2. BUSINESS/ORGANIZATION [countable] a business, company, or organization:
The firm set up its own property development operation.
a microchip manufacturing operation
Nolan and Barnes were both involved in the operation.

3. WORK/ACTIVITIES [uncountable and countable] the work or activities done by a business or organization, or the process of doing this work:
Many small businesses fail in the first year of operation.
The Education Business Partnership has been in operation since 1989.

4. ACTIONS [countable] a set of planned actions or activities for a particular purpose:
The UN rescue operation started shortly after dawn.

5. MACHINE/SYSTEM [uncountable] the way the parts of a machine or system work together, or the process of making a machine or system work:
The aircraft’s engine operation was normal.
in operation
Protective clothing must be worn when the machine is in operation.
The device has a single button, allowing for easy operation.
Careful checks must be made before the factory commences operation.
The new investment system came into operation in 1999.

6. PRINCIPLE/LAW/PLAN ETC [uncountable] the way something such as a principle or law works or has an effect
in operation
a clear example of the law of gravity in operation
come/go into operation (=begin to have an effect)
The new rule comes into operation on February 1.
put/bring something into operation (=make something start to work)
A scheme is being brought into operation to see how these changes would work.

7. MILITARY/POLICE ACTION [countable] a planned military or police action, especially one that involves a lot of people:
Britain will carry out a joint military operation with the US.

8. COMPUTERS [countable] an action done by a computer

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

operation
noun
I. medical
ADJ. major | minor, small | life-saving, vital | emergency | routine | delicate a delicate eye operation
exploratory | surgical, transplant | heart, knee, etc.
VERB + OPERATION have, undergo He had an operation to remove a tumour.
come through, survive She came through the operation very well.
carry out, perform the surgeon performing the operation
PREP. during a/the ~ She woke during the operation.
~ for an operation for a kidney problem
~ on a major operation on his heart

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

operation
II. organized activity
ADJ. big, large-scale, major, massive | covert, undercover | combined, joint | tricky a tricky rescue operation
intelligence, military, naval, police | guerrilla | clean-up, drilling, mining, mopping-up, offensive, peacekeeping, relief, rescue, salvage, security UN troops supervised the relief operations.
banking, building, business restrictions placed on business operations
VERB + OPERATION begin, launch, mount, undertake The authorities launched a massive security operation in the city.
carry out, conduct | supervise
PREP. during a/the ~ during joint military operations
PHRASES a theatre of operations (= where military operations take place)

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

operation
III. fact of sth functioning
ADJ. effective, efficient, smooth | day-to-day the smooth day-to-day operation of the department
VERB + OPERATION come into A ceasefire came into operation in May.
bring/put sth into | cease The factory will cease operation at the end of the year.
PREP. during ~ The machine can get very hot during operation.
in ~ The current tax system has been in operation for ten years.
PHRASES in/into full operation the only reactor in full operation

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

operation

have an operation (also undergo an operation formal)
Harris had a hip operation in October.
She has undergone 50 operations since birth.
do/carry out an operation (also perform an operation formal)
The operation was carried out by a team of surgeons at Papworth Hospital.
I’ve done this operation hundreds of times.
recover from an operation
A man is recovering from an emergency operation after his pet dog attacked him.
survive an operation
Only one person has survived an operation to implant an artificial heart.
a knee/heart/stomach etc operation
He is almost back to full fitness after a knee operation.
a major/minor operation
The unit cares for patients recovering from major operations.
an emergency operation
He had to have his spleen removed in an emergency operation.
a routine operation (=an operation that is often performed)
a routine operation to remove an appendix
a life-saving operation
The child underwent a life-saving operation to remove a blockage in her stomach.
a transplant operation
He is too weak to undergo a transplant operation.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

operation
noun
BAD: My mother is taking an operation tomorrow.
GOOD: My mother is having an operation tomorrow.
BAD: Mr Barrett is going to get an operation on his back.
GOOD: Mr Barrett is going to have an operation on his back.

Usage Note:
DO · HAVE · MAKE · TAKE
Many phrases begin with a very common very such as do, make, have, or take : ‘I felt very nervous about taking the test but, after having a long talk with Mrs Fisher, I decided I would just do my best and try not to make too many silly mistakes .’ These verbs can be combined with some nouns but not with others and since they do not have a clear meaning of their own, choosing the right combination can be a problem. Phrases which tend to cause difficulty are shown below.
HAVE
have a bath (or esp. AmE take ) ‘She’s probably upstairs having a bath.’
Have (your) breakfast ‘We usually have breakfast in the kitchen.’
Have (your) dinner ‘We had dinner and then went for a walk.’
Have a drink ‘I’ll collapse if I don’t have a drink soon.’
Have (an) experience ‘He has no experience of running a large company.’
Have fun ‘You can’t stop people from having fun.’
Have a holiday ‘It’s almost a year since we had a real holiday.’
Have an interview ‘I’ve had six interviews but no one has offered me a job.’
Have a lesson ‘Every morning we have three fifty-minute lessons.’
Have (your) lunch ‘Isn’t it about time we had lunch?’
Have an operation ‘Before I had the operation I could hardly walk.’
Have a party ‘On Saturday we’re having a party.’
Have a picnic ‘If it’s sunny we could have a picnic.’
Have a shower (or esp. AmE take) ‘It only takes me a minute to have a shower.’
TAKE
Take/do an examination ‘Why do we have to take so many tests?’
Take (your) medicine ‘Don’t forget to take your medicine.’
Take a pill ‘He refuses to take sleeping pills.’
Take/do a test ‘The last test I took was a disaster.’
MAKE
Make an effort ‘I had to make a big effort not to laugh.’
Make a journey ‘It was the first journey he’d made all on his own.’
Make a mistake ‘He has made a serious mistake.’
Make a noise ‘How can one small child make so much noise?’
Make progress ‘I made very little progress at the start of the course.’
DO
Do your best ‘Don’t worry, Tim. Just do your best.’
Do (or cause) damage ‘The storm did a lot of damage to the crops.’
Do an exercise ‘Have you done your exercises today?’
Do an experiment ‘To do this experiment, you’ll need two eggs.’
Do (sb) good ‘The holiday has done him a lot of good.’
Do harm ‘A scandal would do his reputation a lot of harm.’
Do your homework ‘Have you done your homework yet?’
Do a job ‘I’ve got one or two jobs to do this evening.’
Do the/some shopping ‘Jake has gone into town to do some shopping.’
Do research ‘We need to do a lot more research.’
Do things ‘We’ve done lots of different things today.’
Do your training ‘Where did you do your training?’
Note also: do something/anything etc: ‘I can’t come now – I’m doing something.’ ‘He hasn’t done anything wrong.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

operation noun [countable] the process of cutting into someone’s body to repair or remove a part that is damaged:
He had an operation to remove a blood clot from his brain.
procedure noun [countable] an operation performed in a particular way on a particular part of the body. Procedure is used especially in medical English, for example by doctors and people who work in hospitals. In everyday English people usually say operation:
a common surgical procedure
The procedure normally only takes a few minutes.
transplant noun [countable] an operation to remove an organ from one person’s body and put it into another person’s body:
There is a shortage of donors for heart transplants.
She had to have a kidney transplant.
surgery noun [uncountable] medical treatment involving an operation:
She required surgery on her right knee.
He was taken in for surgery.
plastic surgery noun [uncountable] surgery to improve someone’s appearance:
The singer has just had plastic surgery on her nose.
bypass noun [countable] an operation to make someone’s blood flow past a part of their heart that is blocked or damaged, often using a vein that has been removed from another part of their body:
He went into hospital for a triple heart bypass.
skin graft an operation to repair an area of skin that has been badly damaged, especially using skin from another part of someone’s body:
Her leg was severely burned and may require a skin graft.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲