conduct

[noun kon-duhkt; verb kuhn-duhkt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR conduct ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

personal behavior; way of acting; bearing or deportment.

direction or management; execution: the conduct of a business.

the act of conducting; guidance; escort: The curator's conduct through the museum was informative.

Obsolete. a guide; an escort.

verb (used with object)

to behave or manage (oneself): He conducted himself well.

to direct in action or course; manage; carry on: to conduct a meeting; to conduct a test.

to direct (an orchestra, chorus, etc.) as leader.

to lead or guide; escort: to conduct a tour.

to serve as a channel or medium for (heat, electricity, sound, etc.): Copper conducts electricity.

verb (used without object)

to lead.

to act as conductor, or leader of a musical group, by communicating to the performers by motions of a baton or the hands his or her interpretation of the music.

Origin of conduct

1250–1300; late Middle English < Medieval Latin conductus escort, noun use of Latin conductus (past participle of condūcere to conduce), equivalent to con- con- + duc- lead + -tus past participle suffix; replacing Middle English conduyt(e) < Anglo-French < Latin as above; see conduit

Related formscon·duct·i·ble, adjectivecon·duct·i·bil·i·ty, nounnon·con·duc·ti·bil·i·ty, nounnon·con·duc·ti·ble, adjectivepre·con·duct, verb (used with object)re·con·duct, verb (used with object)un·con·duct·ed, adjectiveun·con·duct·i·ble, adjectivewell-con·duct·ed, adjective

Synonyms for conduct

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR conduct ON THESAURUS.COM

1. demeanor, comportment, actions, manners. 2. guidance, administration. 5. deport, bear. 6. supervise, administer.

Synonym study

1. See behavior. 8. See guide.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for conduct

management, strategy, charge, handling, treatment, manipulation, policy, transaction, oversight, plan, attitude, manner, stance, control, organize, run, attend, oversee, manage, regulate

Examples from the Web for conduct

Contemporary Examples of conduct

There is, however, a separate wing of AQAP designed to inspire their followers to conduct attacks against the West.
U.S. Spies See Al Qaeda Fingerprints on Paris Massacre
Shane Harris, Nancy A. Youssef
January 8, 2015
Together, they crossed over the International Bridges on foot into Juarez to conduct some business.
An Informant, a Missing American, and Juarez’s House of Death: Inside the 12-Year Cold Case of David Castro
Bill Conroy
January 6, 2015
Before his writing days, London used the Oakland establishment to conduct his studies.
The Bars That Made America Great
Nina Strochlic
December 28, 2014
Were they innocent victims or did they conduct themselves in a manner that would naturally lead to their demise?
The Post-Brown and Garner Question: Who ‘Deserves’ to Die?
Goldie Taylor
December 9, 2014
I pledge to conduct a full and fair investigation and to give the grand jury all of the information necessary to do its job.
New York's Next Killer-Cop Grand Jury
Jacob Siegel
December 6, 2014

Historical Examples of conduct

So certain was he as to the exact locality, that he offered to conduct a party to the place.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
A party of fugitives were to meet her in a wood, that she might conduct them North.
Harriet, The Moses of Her People
Sarah H. Bradford
Sent her back her letters—with a tickler to herself on her conduct.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
At least they will be my standard of conduct in the path before me.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
How little has been the effect of this example on the conduct of the enemy!
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various

British Dictionary definitions for conduct

conduct

noun (ˈkɒndʌkt)

the manner in which a person behaves; behaviour

the way of managing a business, affair, etc; handling

rare the act of guiding or leading

rare a guide or leader

verb (kənˈdʌkt)

(tr) to accompany and guide (people, a party, etc) (esp in the phrase conducted tour)

(tr) to lead or direct (affairs, business, etc); control

(tr) to do or carry outconduct a survey

(tr) to behave or manage (oneself)the child conducted himself well

to control or guide (an orchestra, choir, etc) by the movements of the hands or a batonAlso (esp US): direct

to transmit (heat, electricity, etc)metals conduct heat

Derived Formsconductible, adjectiveconductibility, noun

Word Origin for conduct

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

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

Word Origin and History for conduct

early 15c., "to guide," from Latin conductus, past participle of conducere "to lead or bring together" (see conduce). Sense of "convey" is from early 15c.; that of "to direct, manage" is from 1630s; "to behave in a certain way" from c.1710; "to convey" from 1740. Related: Conducted; conducting. Earlier verb in the same sense was condyten (c.1400), related to conduit. The noun is from mid-15c., "guide" (in sauf conducte); sense of "behavior" is first recorded 1670s.

conduct in Medicine

conduct

[kən-dŭkt′]

v.

To act as a medium for conveying something such as heat or electricity.

n.

The way a person acts, especially from the standpoint of morality.

Related formscon•duc′tive adj.