Which to use
“operation” and “operations” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,279
- “operation” frequency rank
- #1,433
- “operations” frequency rank
- 2712
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | operation | operations |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The method by which a device performs its function. | plural of operation |
Where the eye mixes operation and operations
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between operation and operations
A purely visual mix-up. operation (/ˌɒp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/) and operations (/ˌɒp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃənz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “operation” sits inside “operations”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2712, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
operation is recorded at frequency rank #1,279, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˌɒp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/. operations is at rank #1,433, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˌɒp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃənz/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 2712, this pair ranks #524,248 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of operation vs operations
Shared letters: aeinoprt. Private to "operation": -. Private to "operations": s.
"operation" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVVC · "operations" · 10 letters · shape VCVCVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- operation ← oepration · opeartion · operaiton · operasion · operatino · operationn · operatoin · operattion
- operations ← oeprations · opeartions · operaitons · operatinos · operationns · operationss · operatiosn · operatoins
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "operation" and "operations" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "operation" or "operations" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "operation" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "operations" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #524,248 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "operation" and "operations" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "operation vs oration". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #524,248 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.