Past tense of operate
regular verb
The past tense of operate is operated. The past participle is also operated.
Forms of operate
| Base form (V1) | operate /ˈɒpəɹeɪt/ |
|---|---|
| Past tense (V2) | operated /ˈɑpəɹeɪtɪd/ |
| Past participle (V3) | operated /ˈɑpəɹeɪtɪd/ |
| Present participle | operating /ˈɑpəɹeɪtɪŋ/ |
| Third person singular | operates |
Operated in a sentence
- The police had inside knowledge of how the gang operated.
- It is supposed that western Europe was overpopulated and that the crusades operated a beneficial reduction of numbers.1906, William Graham Sumner, Folkways: A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals, Boston: Ginn...
- A hydraulic press is operated by the differential pressure of water on pistons of different dimensions.From the entry hydraulic
- My grandfather worked in a mill. He operated machinery, did maintenance, and drove forklifts.From the entry mill
- The 11:10 to London was operated by a 4-car diesel multiple unit.From the entry car
Meaning of operate
- verb To perform a work or labour; to exert power or strength, physical or mechanical; to act.
- verb To produce an effect.
- verb To produce an appropriate physical effect; to issue in the result designed by nature; especially (medicine) to take appropriate effect on the human system.
Questions about the past tense of operate
- What is the past tense of operate?
- The past tense of operate is operated.
- What is the past participle of operate?
- The past participle of operate is operated.
- Is operate a regular or irregular verb?
- Operate is a regular verb: its past tense adds -d.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: operate (page history and authors) and the entries of its forms. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws left out forms marked obsolete, archaic, rare or dialectal and added the examples. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Past tense of operate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/past-tense/operate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.