Collocations for operation - noun

major
minor, small
life-saving, vital
emergency
routine (esp. BrE)
delicate
a delicate eye operation

exploratory
surgical, transplant
heart, knee, etc.

have, undergo
He had an operation to remove a growth.

come through, survive
She came through the operation well.

carry out, perform
the surgeon performing the operation

during a/the operation
She woke during the operation.

operation for
an operation for a kidney problem

operation on
a major operation on his heart

big, large-scale, major, massive
covert, undercover
combined, joint
tricky (esp. BrE)
a tricky rescue operation

successful
combat, intelligence, military, naval, police
air, flight, ground, land, sea
US forces had to conduct ground and air operations.
The airline has appointed a new director of flight operations.

guerrilla
clean-up, counterterrorist, drilling, mining, mopping-up, offensive, peacekeeping, relief, rescue, salvage, security, tactical
UN troops supervised the relief operations.

banking, building, business, commercial
restrictions placed on business operations

psychological operations, special operations
Special operations forces were on the ground in Afghanistan.

begin, launch, mount, undertake
The authorities launched a massive security operation in the city.

carry out, conduct, run
oversee, supervise

during a/the operation
during joint military operations

a theatre/theater of operations (= where military operations take place)

effective, efficient, smooth
normal
daily, day-to-day
the smooth day-to-day operation of the department

come into
A ceasefire came into operation in May.

bring sth into (esp. BrE), put sth into
cease
The factory will cease operation at the end of the year.

during operation
The machine can get very hot during operation.

in operation
The current tax system has been in operation for ten years.

in full operation, into full operation
the only reactor in full operation