Meaning

• The method by which a device performs its function.

• The method or practice by which actions are done.

• The act or process of operating; agency; the exertion of power, physical, mechanical, or moral.

• A planned undertaking.

  "The Katrina relief operation was considered botched."

• A business or organization.

  "They run a multinational produce-supply operation."

• A surgical procedure.

  "She had an operation to remove her appendix."

• A procedure for generating a value from one or more other values (the operands).

• A military campaign (e.g. Operation Desert Storm)

• Effect produced; influence.