a tentative theory about the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena; "a scientific hypothesis that survives experimental testing becomes a scientific theory"; "he proposed a fresh theory of alkalis that later was accepted in chemical practices"
a proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations
the activity of operating something (a machine or business etc.); "her smooth operation of the vehicle gave us a surprisingly comfortable ride"
a planned activity involving many people performing various actions; "they organized a rescue operation"; "the biggest police operation in French history"; "running a restaurant is quite an operation"; "consolidate the companies various operations"
a process or series of acts especially of a practical or mechanical nature involved in a particular form of work; "the operations in building a house"; "certain machine tool operations"
a medical procedure involving an incision with instruments; performed to repair damage or arrest disease in a living body; "they will schedule the operation as soon as an operating room is available"; "he died while undergoing surgery"
activity by a military or naval force (as a maneuver or campaign); "it was a joint operation of the navy and air force"
a business especially one run on a large scale; "a large-scale farming operation"; "a multinational operation"; "they paid taxes on every stage of the operation"; "they had to consolidate their operations"
(computer science) data processing in which the result is completely specified by a rule (especially the processing that results from a single instruction); "it can perform millions of operations per second"
process or manner of functioning or operating; "the power of its engine determine its operation"; "the plane's operation in high winds"; "they compared the cooking performance of each oven"; "the jet's performance conformed to high standards"
the state of being in effect or being operative; "that rule is no longer in operation"
a section of something that is long and narrow; "a length of timber"; "a length of tubing"
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest horizontal dimension of something that is fixed in place; "the length of the table was 5 feet"
the property of being the extent of something from beginning to end; "the editor limited the length of my article to 500 words"