conduct

[kon-duhkt, kuhn-duhkt]

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.

verb (used with object)

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)

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

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

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

Other Word Forms

• conductible adjective
• conductibility noun
• nonconductibility noun
• nonconductible adjective
• preconduct verb (used with object)
• reconduct verb (used with object)
• unconductible adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of conduct¹

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; conduit; conduce

Word History and Origins

Origin of conduct¹

C15: from Medieval Latin conductus escorted, from Latin: drawn together, from condūcere to _conduce

Synonym Study

See behavior.

Example Sentences

“These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead,” Carr said.

From Salon

"I will not be silent. I affirm that Vladimir Putin is guilty of killing my husband, Alexei Navalny... I urge the laboratories which conducted studies to make the results public."

From BBC

“The training we complete here cannot be conducted anywhere else in the Marine Corps, period.”

From Los Angeles Times

When he’s in the safe space of right-wing media, Patel conducts himself with a brash overconfidence.

From Salon

Portuguese and German police conducted a fresh search between where the McCanns had been staying and addresses linked to Brückner in June this year, but this yielded no breakthroughs.

From BBC

Related Words

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

When To Use

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.