Definition of "operation" []

• The act or process of operating or functioning. (noun)
• The state of being operative or functional: a factory in operation. (noun)
• A process or series of acts involved in a particular form of work: the operation of building a house. (noun)
• An instance or method of efficient, productive activity: That restaurant is quite an operation. (noun)
• An unethical or illegal business: a fencing operation for stolen goods. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "When mastoid suppuration is associated with chronic middle-ear disease, it is usually necessary to perform the complete radical operation -- _Stacke-Schwartze operation_."
• "The “how” “why” of the laws which are ostensibly in operation is likewise never explored."
• "I†™ d read about it, but to actually see it in operation is amazing."