providing protective supervision; watching over or safeguarding; "daycare that is educational and not just custodial"; "a guardian angel"; "tutelary gods"
being in effect or operation; "de facto apartheid is still operational even in the `new' African nations"- Leslie Marmon Silko; "bus service is in operation during the emergency"; "the company had several operating divisions"
of or intended for or involved in military operations
pertaining to a process or series of actions for achieving a result; "operational difficulties"; "they assumed their operational positions"
the position on a baseball team of the player who is stationed behind home plate and who catches the balls that the pitcher throws; "a catcher needs a lot of protective equipment"; "a catcher plays behind the plate"
(baseball) the person who plays the position of catcher