black operation

American English
This page is about the doublespeak term black operation

Meaning

a secret government or military operation

For example

  • If it's a black operation, there'll no official records of the government's involvement.

  • George W. Bush authorized the CIA to undertake black ops in Iran to bring down the country's government.

Note:
Also "black op"

Variety

This is typically used in American English but may be used in other varieties of English too.

Quick Quiz

"Black operations" are secretly carried out by

a. criminal gangs

b. governments

c. terrorists
a) criminal gangs b) governments c) terrorists

Contributor: Matt Errey