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

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

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

"The government told us that this is not an appropriate time to conduct this conference," he told AFP.

From Barron's ● Aug. 8, 2026

Women's safety campaigners are calling for Thirty Seconds to Mars' upcoming concerts in the UK to be cancelled after frontman Jared Leto was accused of criminal sexual conduct.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

In the New Mexico case, the First Judicial Court in Santa Fe determined that Meta’s conduct created a “public nuisance” and ordered the company to create a fund to remedy harms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

The team plans to conduct larger studies to verify the initial results and evaluate whether NEUSLeeP could help people with PTSD, depression and chronic insomnia.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

A tall sallow-faced young man arrived from Pickwick one morning to teach me how to conduct the drills.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

June 18: The 737 MAX 10, the biggest model of the jet, conducts its first-ever flight.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

Rimpac is one of the largest of the more than 100 annual joint exercises the Pacific Command, which oversees joint U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific, conducts with allies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

He remains suspended from practising law in the UK, after the Bar Standards Board imposed an interim ban while it conducts its own inquiry.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

Now with Soulcare, Fadel conducts multiple types of archery workshops in Portland and around the country, including in Colorado, Texas and throughout California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Deep inside is the oldest part, the brainstem, which conducts the basic biological functions, including the rhythms of life—heartbeat and respiration.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Interviews have been conducted and the SFA are closing in on an appointment.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

If the performance evaluation is conducted honestly and based on merit, she said, the commission has nothing to fear.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

This microbial community was first documented in a 2019 study conducted with Eurac Research.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

TIAA, Mass Mutual, Principal and Allianz said they do their own risk assessment separate from those conducted by ratings firms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The Congressional Union also started “suffrage schools” to educate women about the issue and, according to Paul, they conducted “an uninterrupted series of indoor and outdoor meetings, numbering frequently from five to ten a day.”

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

There, electrically conducting molten iron circulates around the solid inner core.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

It added that the company is conducting its own investigation into the incident in order to "identify the causes of its behavior".

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

OpenAI has committed to conducting a full review sharing a technical report about the hack.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

Students have the opportunity to work with researchers, PhD candidates and professors conducting research at the campus through a group research project in which they present their findings to peers and professors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

Holmes gave him a blank look and said he was not conducting any experiments.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Related Words

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