operate

operate against someone or something

to work against someone or something; to have a negative effect on someone or something. All of this operates against our idea affixing the garage up as a family room. The new vacation policy operates against my plan to take all of July off.

See also: against

operate from something

to work out of something or some place. I'm in business for myself. I operate from my home. We operate from a garage in the back of City Hall.

operate on someone

to perform a surgical operation on someone. They decided not to operate on her. She wasn't operated on after all.

operate on something 

1. to work on something; to work with the insides of something. (As a surgeon might operate.) He tried to operate on his watch and ruined it. Todd operated on the door lock and fixed it.

2. to function or conduct business on a certain principle or assumption. The company has always operated on the theory that the customer is always right. Sam operates on the assumption that everyone is out to get him.