conduct

[ noun kon-duhkt; verb kuhn-duhkt ]

noun

1. personal behavior; way of acting; bearing or deportment.

   Synonyms: actions, comportment, demeanor, manners

2. direction or management; administration:

   the conduct of a business.

   Synonyms: government, guidance

3. the act of conducting; guidance:

   The curator's conduct through the museum was informative.

4. Obsolete. a guide; an escort.

verb (used with object)

1. to behave or manage (oneself):

   He conducted himself well.

   Synonyms: bear, deport

2. to direct in action or course; manage; carry on: to conduct a test.

   to conduct a meeting;

   to conduct a test.

   Synonyms: administer, supervise

3. to direct (an orchestra, chorus, etc.) as leader.
4. to lead or guide; escort:

   to conduct a tour.

5. to serve as a channel or medium for (heat, electricity, sound, etc.):

   Copper conducts electricity.

verb (used without object)

1. to lead.
2. to act as conductor, or leader of a musical group, by communicating a specific interpretation of the music to the performers by motions of a baton or the hands.

conduct

noun

1. the manner in which a person behaves; behaviour
2. the way of managing a business, affair, etc; handling
3. rare.
   the act of guiding or leading
4. rare.
   a guide or leader

verb

1. tr to accompany and guide (people, a party, etc) (esp in the phrase conducted tour )
2. tr to lead or direct (affairs, business, etc); control
3. tr to do or carry out

   conduct a survey

4. tr to behave or manage (oneself)

   the child conducted himself well

5. to control or guide (an orchestra, choir, etc) by the movements of the hands or a baton Also (esp US)direct
6. to transmit (heat, electricity, etc)

   metals conduct heat

Derived Forms

• conˈductible, adjective
• conˌductiˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• con·duct·i·ble adjective
• con·duct·i·bil·i·ty [k, uh, n-duhk-t, uh, -, bil, -i-tee], noun
• non·con·duc·ti·bil·i·ty noun
• non·con·duc·ti·ble adjective
• pre·con·duct verb (used with object)
• re·con·duct verb (used with object)
• un·con·duct·i·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of conduct¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin conductus “escort,” noun use of Latin conductus (past participle of condūcere “to lead, bring together”), equivalent to con- con- + duc- “to lead” + -tus past participle suffix; replacing Middle English conduyt(e), from Anglo-French, from Latin as above; conduit; conduce

Word History and Origins

Origin of conduct¹

C15: from Medieval Latin conductus escorted, from Latin: drawn together, from condūcere to conduce

Synonym Study

See behavior.

Example Sentences

To test it, Ahmed conducted additional calculations on data taken from the Boise and Missouri rivers in the United States.

From Science Daily

The survey was conducted online between March and July, a period that covered the height of campus protests in April, May and June.

From Los Angeles Times

"If Trump conducts mass deportations, ICE would blow past that number very quickly," Adam Isacson, a migration and border expert from the Washington Office on Latin America told the BBC.

From BBC

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Mr Bookman, 26, had been placed on paid administrative leave while they conduct an internal review of the 12 November incident.

From BBC

In two public surveys conducted as part of the research, Keserű said, participants were outraged and felt exploited in scenarios where their health data were sold for a profit without their knowledge.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• attend
• control
• direct
• handle
• keep
• manage
• operate
• order
• organize
• oversee
• regulate
• run
• supervise

When To Use

What are other ways to say conduct?

To conduct oneself is to behave or manage oneself. To conduct a tour is to lead or guide it. How does conduct compare to synonyms guide, direct, and lead? Find out on Thesaurus.com.