Operate
Operate verb - To control the mechanical operation of.
Usage example: do not operate heavy machinery, including cars, after taking this medication
Use is a synonym for operate in work topic. In some cases you can use "Use" instead a verb "Operate", when it comes to topics like control, run, work out. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
- Advances in technology have made lighthouses mostly obsolete, though; GPS and LORAN killed off the use of lighthouses in commercial shipping due to being much more accurate and cheaper to use and operate.
Source: Lighthouse Point -
After Amy breaks up with him, Sheldon gets the bright idea to use a remote control to operate the camera when he does "Fun With Flags".
Source: Radar / Live-Action TV -
The David Hopkins webcomic Rework the Dead has the "purple light system" which allows species without limbs to use technology simply by looking at the control the want to operate and blinking
Source: Unusual User Interface
Cite this Source
Use and Operate. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/operate/use
Operate & Use. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/operate/use>.
Use or Operate. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/operate/use.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "operate" and "use" have occurred on timeline