Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell operate

Operate is spelled O-P-E-R-A-T-E.

hear itop·er·ate/'ɑpə,reɪt/verbRules and real life

What it means: To perform medical surgery.

In a sentence: The doctor will operate on my doll to fix her arm.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear.

Same family: operation, operator, operational, cooperate, operating. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: Operate comes from the Latin verb 'operari,' meaning 'to work' or 'to carry out.' It’s from the same root as 'opera,' which originally referred to 'works' or 'labor' before becoming the name for a musical performance.

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

Everyone has words they always get wrong. Spelling.School finds yours, shows you exactly why you miss them, and uses spaced repetition until you spell them right every time. Five minutes a day. Try five words without signing up.