conductor
a person who conducts; a leader, guide, director, or manager.
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.
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
a substance, body, or device that readily conducts heat, electricity, sound, etc.: Copper is a good conductor of electricity.
Origin of conductor
1Other words from conductor
- con·duc·to·ri·al [kon-duhk-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-], /ˌkɒn dʌkˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr-/, adjective
- con·duc·tor·ship, noun
- mul·ti·con·duc·tor, adjective
- pre·con·duc·tor, noun
Words Nearby conductor
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use conductor in a sentence
The deadly Rice Fire in 2007 was caused by a Sycamore branch falling on overhead SDG&E conductors igniting a huge brush fire.
Regulators Approve SDG&E Wildfire Plan Despite Serious Flaw | MacKenzie Elmer | September 25, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoLike any good conductor, however, the Kennedy Center pivoted gracefully, transforming a portion of the REACH outdoor space into Victura Park.
As Hastings writes, Netflix is less like a perfectly synchronized orchestra, with a conductor directing how musicians should hit a note or hold a beat.
What if Your Company Had No Rules? (Bonus Episode) | Maria Konnikova | September 12, 2020 | FreakonomicsJanssen’s Thakkar, who sees himself as a conductor of sorts, reflected, “The value is in the data, but the power is in the orchestration of customer engagement using traditional and predictive insights.”
E-learning? There’s a database for that. Real-time data? That, too | Jason Sparapani | August 20, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewI will be a conductor of an orchestra, and the classroom will be my concert hall again.
I Tried to Cut Out the Distance in Distance Learning – Here’s What Happened | Thomas Courtney | July 13, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
He mistrusted the “shish-kebab temperament” of the conductor, the Armenian Alexander Melik-Pashayev.
Ninety-Sixth Street marks the first delay of the trip, the cause of which is lost in a garbled announcement from the conductor.
Leaky Ceilings, Catcalls, and Uncaged Pythons: 4 Hours on NYC’s Worst Subway | Kevin Zawacki | August 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTDawkins is an adept cultural fire-conductor; the title of his bestselling book The God Delusion gives a clear indicator why.
Despite attempts to signal the conductor, the train was unable to stop in time, and it crashed into the derailed cars.
The Five Deadliest Train Derailments in U.S. History | The Daily Beast | December 2, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTShields went as far as hiring a real conductor to steer a train directly at the actress to get his memorable shot.
Celebrity Photographer Tyler Shields Exposes ‘The Dirty Side of Glamour’ | Justin Jones | November 6, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTWith unbreathing silence, and a heart into which all that was man within him was summoned, he followed his conductor.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterA car conductor is instructed to treat passengers civilly and to use no harsh means with them, save in extreme cases.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesHis principal surely would not be liable, though the conductor doubtless would be.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesThe cylinder and steam-pipes were surrounded with sawdust about 20 inches in thickness, as a non-conductor of heat.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickDo not continually pester either your companion or the conductor with questions, such as "Where are we now?"
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness | Florence Hartley
British Dictionary definitions for conductor
/ (kənˈdʌktə) /
an official on a bus who collects fares, checks tickets, etc
Also called (esp US): director a person who conducts an orchestra, choir, etc
a person who leads or guides
US and Canadian a railway official in charge of a train
a substance, body, or system that conducts electricity, heat, etc
Derived forms of conductor
- conductorship, noun
- conductress (kənˈdʌktrɪs), fem n
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for conductor
[ kən-dŭk′tər ]
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. Compare insulator. See also resistance superconductivity.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for conductor
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.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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