noun
Common
ops
Ops (noun) means Short for "operations" — the practical, day-to-day running of a business, military mission, or IT system. Example: “The ops team handled the server outage overnight.”
noun
1
Short for "operations" — the practical, day-to-day running of a business, military mission, or IT system.
"The ops team handled the server outage overnight."
"The ops manager checks the warehouse schedule every morning."
"She moved from sales into ops after two years at the company."
2
In video games, a status granting a player administrative or operator privileges.
"Why don't I have ops in this channel any more?"
"The server admin gave him ops so he could ban cheaters."
How to use ops
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishCasual shorthand for "operations" — the hands-on running of something.
When to use it
Informal; common in business, military, gaming, and tech contexts.
Common pairings
ops team
day-to-day ops
special ops
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The _____ team handled the server outage overnight.
Etymology
This is a learned borrowing from Latin Ops, taken from Latin ops (“resources, wealth”). That word traces back to Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep-(i)-, *h₃op-(i)- (“force, ability”), from the *h₃ep- base.
Synonyms
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Rhymes for ops
See all rhymes for ops →Frequently asked questions
What does “ops” mean?
The word “ops” means short for "operations" — the practical, day-to-day running of a business, military mission, or IT system. In plain terms, casual shorthand for "operations" — the hands-on running of something.
How do you use “ops” in a sentence?
Here is “ops” used in a sentence: “The ops team handled the server outage overnight.”
What part of speech is “ops”?
“Ops” is a noun.
Is “ops” a common word?
“Ops” is a fairly common word in modern English.
How many meanings does “ops” have?
“Ops” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: short for "operations" — the practical, day-to-day running of a business, military mission, or IT system.
What is the difference between ops and operations?
Ops is simply an informal shortening of "operations," referring to the practical, day-to-day running of a business, military mission, or IT system. The full word "operations" is used in more formal writing, while "ops" is common in casual speech and industry jargon, such as "DevOps" or "IT ops."
What does ops mean in video games?
In video games, ops (or "op" status) refers to a status granting a player administrative or operator privileges, such as the ability to moderate a server or change game settings. This usage is common in multiplayer games like Minecraft.
Is ops always plural in meaning?
Ops looks plural because it ends in "s," but it functions as a shortened form of the mass noun "operations" and is generally treated as a single collective concept, as in "the ops team." It is rarely used to count individual operations one by one.
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