operating

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Working or running, especially a machine, system or business.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ahperayting

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IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɑpɚeɪtɪŋ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

Involved in a kind of operation
“The operating conditions of the oxidation pond.”
In operation; that operates.

noun

uncountable
Synonym of operation (in the uncountable sense).

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency: Very Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

operating systemoperating roomoperating incomeoperating costoperating conditions

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

operateverbBase word
Direct or control.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

operatornounPerson or profession · specialist
A symbol or function representing a mathematical operation.
operativeadjectiveDerived adjective
Related to Involved in a kind of operation.
operaticadjectiveDerived adjective
Related to Involved in a kind of operation.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

operating procedurenounCompound term
A procedure for operating something or for dealing with a given situation.
operating roomnounCompound term
A room in a hospital equipped for the performance of surgical operations.
operating statementnounCompound term
A financial statement that gives operating results for a specific period.
operating surgeonnounCompound term
A physician who specializes in surgery.
operating systemnounCompound term
Software that controls the execution of computer programs and may provide various services.
operating tablenounCompound term
Table on which the patient lies during a surgical operation.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.