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.
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.