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Who was the first American to conduct an opera at Milan's La Scala?

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conduct

American  

[kon-duhkt, kuhn-duhkt] / ˈkɒn dʌkt, kənˈdʌkt /

noun

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

   Synonyms:

   manners, actions, comportment, demeanor

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.

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verb (used with object)

• conducts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• conducted,
  past participle,  past
• conducting
  present participle

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)

• conducts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• conducted,
  past participle,  past
• conducting
  present participle

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 British  

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

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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. Also (esp US): direct. to control or guide (an orchestra, choir, etc) by the movements of the hands or a baton

6. to transmit (heat, electricity, etc)

   metals conduct heat

Usage

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.

Synonym Usage

See behavior.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• conductibility
  noun
• nonconductibility
  noun
• preconduct
  verb (used with object)
• reconduct
  verb (used with object)
• conductible
  adjective
• nonconductible
  adjective
• unconductible
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• conducting
  present
• conducted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• conduct
  simple
• conducts
  simple
• have conducted
  perfect
• has conducted
  perfect
• am conducting
  progressive
• are conducting
  progressive
• is conducting
  progressive
• have been conducting
  perfect progressive
• has been conducting
  perfect progressive

Past

• conducted
  simple
• had conducted
  perfect
• was conducting
  progressive
• were conducting
  progressive
• had been conducting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will conduct
  simple
• will have conducted
  perfect
• will be conducting
  progressive
• will have been conducting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of conduct

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; see conduit; conduce

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Explanation

The noun conduct refers to behavior, like how students are rewarded for good conduct. The verb conduct means carry something through, as in "to conduct a survey." And if you lead an orchestra, you conduct it. Your conduct (accent on the first syllable), or your own behavior, is the way you conduct (accent on the second syllable), or lead, yourself. Keep the accent on the second syllable to conduct, or lead, an orchestra, and to conduct an interview by asking someone questions. Also, metals like copper or gold conduct electricity by letting the electricity pass through.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conduct conducts conducted conducting

Frost suggests sending Widdicombe upstairs to conduct the post-dance interviews instead of Radebe, who at times struggles to control his exuberant former fellow dancers.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

As Mathew found, however, Facebook didn’t conduct the investigation it promised — and knew at the time that it didn’t have the ability to take the announced actions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

Professor Daniel Blumstein of the University of California, Los Angeles, who helped conduct the research, said the results were convincing despite the lack of an explanation.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026

Wedgewood appears to have charged clients to conduct surveys on their behalf, a standard practice for aboveboard polling firms that could in this case amount to fraud.

From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2026

Scoville put acquaintances and relatives on the witness stand to describe the defendant's odd conduct.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

He also conducts what he calls a “self-audit” to rid himself of acronyms such as RMD, which stands for required minimum distribution, and QCD for qualified charitable distribution.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

“Catching one guy means there are half a dozen out there,” said Randy Watt, president of leadership consulting firm SRW, which conducts security and threat assessments for companies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Allies are currently bracing for possible cuts to US forces in Europe as the Pentagon conducts a review of its deployments on the continent.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

Clayton describes himself as a “working supervisor” who conducts arraignments and represents clients at preliminary and other hearings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Anchorman Walter Cronkite conducts an interview in Hue, Vietnam, for his CBS News Special Report on the war, 1968.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

But a stock count she conducted herself revealed a significant gap between inventory and sales receipts.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

In a KFF health opinion poll conducted in June, 37% of Republican voters said healthcare costs were extremely important.

From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026

Let’s jump down this legal escape hatch via a recent experiment conducted at Harvard Business School.

From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2026

The Datafolha poll was conducted between Thursday and Friday and does not specify whether interviews were carried out after the program.

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026

He must see how they conducted themselves in wars.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

Nunez said Saturday's outcome was more "positive" than a week ago, with more police on the streets acting more rapidly, conducting more pre-demonstration checks and better protecting businesses.

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026

By analyzing human and mouse fat samples, studying cultured fat cells, and conducting experiments in genetically modified mice, the scientists identified another mechanism linking this protein to energy expenditure.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

“In some ways, the decision seems already made,” Maureen Ellenberger, a Santa Barbara resident, said in August to the federal officials conducting the hearing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

Legitimate pollsters strive to be transparent about who’s conducting them, who’s funding them, and the methods they use.

From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2026

Classes were canceled and the masters spent several hours of each day conducting examinations.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

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