conductor

American  

[kuhn-duhk-ter] / kənˈdʌk tər /

noun

1. a person who conducts; a leader, guide, director, or manager.

2. an employee on a bus, train, or other public conveyance, who is in charge of the conveyance and its passengers, collects fares or tickets, etc.

3. a person who directs an orchestra or chorus, communicating a specific interpretation of the music to the performers by motions of a baton or the hands

4. a substance, body, or device that readily conducts heat, electricity, sound, etc..

   Copper is a good conductor of electricity.

5. lightning rod.

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conductor British  

/ kənˈdʌktə, kənˈdʌktrɪs /

noun

1. an official on a bus who collects fares, checks tickets, etc

2. Also called (esp US): director.  a person who conducts an orchestra, choir, etc

3. a person who leads or guides

4. a railway official in charge of a train

5. a substance, body, or system that conducts electricity, heat, etc

6. See lightning conductor

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conductor Scientific  

/ kən-dŭk′tər /

1. A material or an object that conducts heat, electricity, light, or sound. Electrical conductors contain electric charges (usually electrons) that are relatively free to move through the material; a voltage applied across the conductor therefore creates an electric current. Insulators (electrical nonconductors) contain no charges that move when subject to a voltage.

2. Compare insulator See also resistance superconductivity

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conductor Cultural  

1. A material through which electric current (see also current) can pass. In general, metals are good conductors. Copper or aluminum is normally used to conduct electricity in commercial and household systems. (Compare insulator.)

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Other Word Forms

• conductorial adjective
• conductorship noun
• conductress noun
• multiconductor adjective
• preconductor noun

Etymology

Origin of conductor

First recorded in 1400–50; from Latin ( conduce, -tor ); replacing late Middle English cond(u)itour from Anglo-French, equivalent to Middle French conduiteur from Latin as above; conduit

Example Sentences

A high school keyboard class came first, followed by a music theory class, and Cummins handled both like a conductor leading an orchestra, showering her students with “bravos.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026

Then, in January, Esa-Pekka Salonen, named music conductor laureate in 2009 after his transformative 17 years as music director, begins his first concerts in his new role of creative director, assuring the L.A.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026

The conductor was Kurt Masur, a German who had been conscripted by the Nazis as a teenager.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

In simple terms, the magnetic field pushes negatively charged electrons to one side of the conductor.

From Science Daily • Mar. 1, 2026

The kids ran off laughing, a conductor chasing them.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

Related Words

• director
• maestro
• manager
• master
• supervisor