conductor

[ kuhn-duhk-ter ]
See synonyms for: conductorconductors on Thesaurus.com

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.

  1. 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

  2. a substance, body, or device that readily conducts heat, electricity, sound, etc.: Copper is a good conductor of electricity.

Origin of conductor

1
First recorded in 1400–50; from Latin (see conduce, -tor); replacing late Middle English cond(u)itour from Anglo-French, equivalent to Middle French conduiteur from Latin as above; see conduit

Other 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

British Dictionary definitions for conductor

conductor

/ (kənˈdʌktə) /


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

  1. a person who leads or guides

  2. US and Canadian a railway official in charge of a train

  3. 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

conductor

[ kən-dŭktər ]


  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. 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

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.