Function vs. Operation

What something does or is used for.

A professional or official position.

An official or social occasion.

A relation where one thing is dependent on another for its existence, value, or significance.

(mathematics) A relation in which each element of the domain is associated with exactly one element of the codomain.

(computing) A routine that receives zero or more arguments and may return a result.

(biology) The physiological activity of an organ or body part.

(chemistry) The characteristic behavior of a chemical compound.

(anthropology) The role of a social practice in the continued existence of the group.

(intransitive) To have a function.

(intransitive) To carry out a function; to be in action.

The act of executing or performing any duty, office, or calling; performance.

The appropriate action of any special organ or part of an animal or vegetable organism; as, the function of the heart or the limbs; the function of leaves, sap, roots, etc.; life is the sum of the functions of the various organs and parts of the body.

The natural or assigned action of any power or faculty, as of the soul, or of the intellect; the exertion of an energy of some determinate kind.

Example: ‘As the mind opens, and its functions spread.’;

The course of action which peculiarly pertains to any public officer in church or state; the activity appropriate to any business or profession.

Example: ‘Tradesmen . . . going about their functions.’; ‘The malady which made him incapable of performing hisregal functions.’;

A quantity so connected with another quantity, that if any alteration be made in the latter there will be a consequent alteration in the former. Each quantity is said to be a function of the other. Thus, the circumference of a circle is a function of the diameter. If x be a symbol to which different numerical values can be assigned, such expressions as x2, 3x, Log. x, and Sin. x, are all functions of x.

A religious ceremony, esp. one particularly impressive and elaborate.

Example: ‘Every solemn function' performed with the requirements of the liturgy.’;

A public or social ceremony or gathering; a festivity or entertainment, esp. one somewhat formal.

Example: ‘This function, which is our chief social event.’;

To execute or perform a function; to transact one's regular or appointed business.

a mathematical relation such that each element of one set is associated with at least one element of another set

what something is used for;

Example: ‘the function of an auger is to bore holes’; ‘ballet is beautiful but what use is it?’;

the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group;

Example: ‘the function of a teacher’; ‘the government must do its part’; ‘play its role’;

a relation such that one thing is dependent on another;

Example: ‘height is a function of age’; ‘price is a function of supply and demand’;

a formal or official social gathering or ceremony;

Example: ‘it was a black-tie function’;

a vaguely specified social event;

Example: ‘the party was quite an affair’; ‘an occasion arranged to honor the president’; ‘a seemingly endless round of social functions’;

a set sequence of steps, part of larger computer program

perform as expected when applied;

Example: ‘The washing machine won't go unless it's plugged in’; ‘Does this old car still run well?’; ‘This old radio doesn't work anymore’;

serve a purpose, role, or function;

Example: ‘The tree stump serves as a table’; ‘The female students served as a control group’; ‘This table would serve very well’; ‘His freedom served him well’; ‘The table functions as a desk’;

perform duties attached to a particular office or place or function;

Example: ‘His wife officiated as his private secretary’;

an activity that is natural to or the purpose of a person or thing

Example: ‘bridges perform the function of providing access across water’; ‘bodily functions’;

practical use or purpose in design

Example: ‘building designs that prioritize style over function’;

a basic task of a computer, especially one that corresponds to a single instruction from the user.

a relation or expression involving one or more variables

Example: ‘the function (bx + c)’;

a variable quantity regarded in relation to one or more other variables in terms of which it may be expressed or on which its value depends

Example: ‘the magnetic field has varied as a function of time’;

a functional group

Example: ‘the carboxyl group was replaced by functions that included tetrazolyl-, sulphonyl-, and phosphoryl-’;

a thing dependent on another factor or factors

Example: ‘class shame is a function of social power’;

a large or formal social event or ceremony

Example: ‘he was obliged to attend party functions’;

work or operate in a proper or particular way

Example: ‘her liver is functioning normally’;

fulfil the purpose or task of (a specified thing)

Example: ‘the museum intends to function as an educational and study centre’;

The method by which a device performs its function.

Example: ‘It is dangerous to look at the beam of a laser while it is in operation.’;

The method or practice by which actions are done.

The act or process of operating; agency; the exertion of power, physical, mechanical, or moral.

A planned undertaking.

Example: ‘The police ran an operation to get vagrants off the streets.’; ‘The Katrina relief operation was considered botched.’;

A business or organization.

Example: ‘We run our operation from a storefront.’; ‘They run a multinational produce-supply operation.’;

(medicine) A surgical procedure.

Example: ‘She had an operation to remove her appendix.’;

a procedure for generating a value from one or more other values (the operands).

(military) A military campaign (e.g. Operation Desert Storm)

(obsolete) Effect produced; influence.

The act or process of operating; agency; the exertion of power, physical, mechanical, or moral.

Example: ‘The pain and sickness caused by manna are the effects of its operation on the stomach.’; ‘Speculative painting, without the assistance of manual operation, can never attain to perfection.’;

The method of working; mode of action.

That which is operated or accomplished; an effect brought about in accordance with a definite plan; as, military or naval operations.

Effect produced; influence.

Example: ‘The bards . . . had great operation on the vulgar.’;

Something to be done; some transformation to be made upon quantities or mathematical objects, the transformation being indicated either by rules or symbols.

Any methodical action of the hand, or of the hand with instruments, on the human body, to produce a curative or remedial effect, as in amputation, etc.

a business especially one run on a large scale;

Example: ‘a large-scale farming operation’; ‘a multinational operation’; ‘they paid taxes on every stage of the operation’; ‘they had to consolidate their operations’;

a planned activity involving many people performing various actions;

Example: ‘they organized a rescue operation’; ‘the biggest police operation in French history’; ‘running a restaurant is quite an operation’; ‘consolidate the companies various operations’;

a process or series of acts especially of a practical or mechanical nature involved in a particular form of work;

Example: ‘the operations in building a house’; ‘certain machine tool operations’;

the state of being in effect or being operative;

Example: ‘that rule is no longer in operation’;

a medical procedure involving an incision with instruments; performed to repair damage or arrest disease in a living body;

Example: ‘they will schedule the operation as soon as an operating room is available’; ‘he died while undergoing surgery’;

activity by a military or naval force (as a maneuver or campaign);

Example: ‘it was a joint operation of the navy and air force’;

(computer science) data processing in which the result is completely specified by a rule (especially the processing that results from a single instruction);

Example: ‘it can perform millions of operations per second’;

process or manner of functioning or operating;

Example: ‘the power of its engine determine its operation’; ‘the plane's operation in high winds’; ‘they compared the cooking performance of each oven’; ‘the jet's performance conformed to high standards’;

(mathematics) calculation by mathematical methods;

Example: ‘the problems at the end of the chapter demonstrated the mathematical processes involved in the derivation’; ‘they were learning the basic operations of arithmetic’;

(psychology) the performance of some composite cognitive activity; an operation that affects mental contents;

Example: ‘the process of thinking’; ‘the cognitive operation of remembering’;

the activity of operating something (a machine or business etc.);

Example: ‘her smooth operation of the vehicle gave us a surprisingly comfortable ride’;