conductor

[ kuhn-duhk-ter ]

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.

conductor

/ 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
   See lightning conductor

conductor

/ 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 insulatorSee also resistance

conductor

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 .)

Derived Forms

• conductress, noun:feminine
• conˈductorˌship, noun

Other Words From

• con·duc·to·ri·al [kon-duhk-, tawr, -ee-, uh, l, -, tohr, -], adjective
• con·ductor·ship noun
• multi·con·ductor adjective
• precon·ductor noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of conductor¹

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

The deadly Rice Fire in 2007 was caused by a Sycamore branch falling on overhead SDG&E conductors igniting a huge brush fire.

From Voice of San Diego

Like any good conductor, however, the Kennedy Center pivoted gracefully, transforming a portion of the REACH outdoor space into Victura Park.

From Washington Blade

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.

From Freakonomics

Janssen’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.”

From MIT Technology Review

I will be a conductor of an orchestra, and the classroom will be my concert hall again.

From Voice of San Diego

He mistrusted the “shish-kebab temperament” of the conductor, the Armenian Alexander Melik-Pashayev.

From The Daily Beast

Ninety-Sixth Street marks the first delay of the trip, the cause of which is lost in a garbled announcement from the conductor.

From The Daily Beast

Dawkins is an adept cultural fire-conductor; the title of his bestselling book The God Delusion gives a clear indicator why.

From The Daily Beast

Despite attempts to signal the conductor, the train was unable to stop in time, and it crashed into the derailed cars.

From The Daily Beast

Shields went as far as hiring a real conductor to steer a train directly at the actress to get his memorable shot.

From The Daily Beast

With unbreathing silence, and a heart into which all that was man within him was summoned, he followed his conductor.

From Project Gutenberg

A car conductor is instructed to treat passengers civilly and to use no harsh means with them, save in extreme cases.

From Project Gutenberg

His principal surely would not be liable, though the conductor doubtless would be.

From Project Gutenberg

The cylinder and steam-pipes were surrounded with sawdust about 20 inches in thickness, as a non-conductor of heat.

From Project Gutenberg

Do not continually pester either your companion or the conductor with questions, such as "Where are we now?"

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• director
• maestro
• manager
• master
• supervisor