operational

adjective op·er·a·tion·al \ ˌä-pə-ˈrā-shnəl , -shə-nᵊl \

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of operational

1 :of or relating to operation or to an operation

the operational gap between planning and production

2 :of, relating to, or based on operations

3 a :of, engaged in, or connected with execution of military or naval operations in campaign or battle

b :ready for or in condition to undertake a destined function

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operationally

adverb

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Examples of operational in a Sentence

The new airport should be fully operational by next year.
The computer network is now operational.

Recent Examples of operational from the Web

The city has 120 water pumps, but currently only 105 are operational, said Tyronne Walker, communications director for Landrieu.

— tim craig, Washington Post, "Hurricane Harvey grows stronger as Texas braces for historic storm to make landfall Friday evening," 25 Aug. 2017
The imagery comes from NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite, which has not yet been declared operational.

— matthew martinez, star-telegram, "‘You will remember this storm for the rest of your life’," 25 Aug. 2017
At least, that is, until Saturday, when the president invited speculation that the old popular front is still operational.

— jonah goldberg, National Review, "Conservatism’s Damaging Game of Footsie with the Alt-Right," 16 Aug. 2017
The plant is projected to be operational by 2021, but a location has not been announced.

— lawrence specker, AL.com, "Mobile mayoral debate: Jones, Stimpson trade jabs," 14 Aug. 2017
There are still some small operational snags to sort out; for instance, despite my photo hanging behind the front desk, restaurant-critic style, my compliment tally didn’t quite total 10.

— sarah firshein, Town & Country, "Now You Can Pay a Hotel to Give You Compliments," 11 Aug. 2017
The app upgrade, which will be announced Thursday morning, will be available Oct. 2, and the plan is to have everything fully operational for the start of the season, according to Hornets Chief Marketing Officer Pete Guelli.

— katherine peralta, charlotteobserver, "With new app, Hornets say fans won’t need to bring their wallets to home games," 2 Aug. 2017
Every soldier who has served in the armed forces has a treasure trove of anecdotes where an officer or sergeant bungles an operation or task: getting lost in the woods, mixing up operational assets, losing your cool in the thick of a mission.

— charles clymer, GQ, "Donald Trump's Ban on Trans Americans in the Military Isn't About Money at All," 27 July 2017
The USS Ford will undergo a number of tests prior to becoming operational in the next few years.

— Fox News, "Take a look at the USS Gerald R. Ford, America's new $13B aircraft carrier," 19 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'operational.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of operational

operation + ¹-al

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First Known Use: 1885

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operational Synonyms

OPERATIONAL Defined for English Language Learners

operational

adjective

Definition of operational for English Language Learners

: ready for use : able to be used
: of or relating to the operation of a business or machine

OPERATIONAL Defined for Kids

operational

adjective op·er·a·tion·al \ ˌä-pə-ˈrā-shə-nᵊl \

Definition of operational for Students

:ready for use

The new airport is now operational.

Law Dictionary

operational

adjective op·er·a·tion·al \ ˌä-pə-ˈrā-shə-nəl \

legal Definition of operational

:ministerial

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OPERATIONAL Defined for English Language Learners

operational

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