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

After all, according to the EFL commission, the club employed "a particularly deplorable approach" by using junior members of staff to conduct the spying "at the direction of senior personnel".

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Most of the allocated money went to pay American consultants, for example to conduct underground surveys or advise the Greenlandic government on tourism and minerals, Keldsen said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

To illustrate conduct UC can regulate, Slaughter cited the example of a bully calling a boy “little princess” or “baby girl.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Over the past few weeks she’s received questions about whether auditors can speak freely without retaliation from the labs and if evaluators can gain sufficient access to the necessary materials needed to conduct an audit.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026

Such police conduct, the Court concluded, does not violate the Fourth Amendment’s ban on “unreasonable searches and seizures.”

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit organization that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in education and research.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

He conducts tours of the White House helipad while promoting a fertilizer brand on national television.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

It declined to comment on “pending investigations or specific matters” but says it conducts surveillance for any trades that would violate its policies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Tielemans cuts a relaxed figure as he conducts his first extended media interview since his switch from Villa, taking time to personally shake hands with all the journalists present.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

To be sure, it is hidden away in bone and conducts internal affairs in secrecy, but virtually all the business is the direct result of thinking that has already occurred in other minds.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

A poll conducted by YouGov, however, has Turek in front by a single point.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

The research was conducted by Prof. Eshbal Ratzon of the Department of Jewish Philosophy and the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas at the Entin Faculty of Humanities.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

It has been reported that the hacks occurred in May during a test conducted by an independent company that carries out cyber-security evaluations.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

I watched the towers fall while we conducted a search to make sure all employees evacuated.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Scientists onboard had successfully conducted hundreds of experiments and undertaken thousands of observations.

From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge

The Justice Department has been conducting a wide-ranging investigation into pediatric gender care.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Russia and China are conducting joint military exercises in the far north.

From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026

He leads the team in warmups, conducting their every move.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

Tuesday's statement from Brackney said "we are conducting the investigation at the highest appropriate level while we await the medical examiner's findings", which would include an official cause and manner of death.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Rafik lit a stick of incense and wandered back and forth in the hall as if conducting a ritual.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

Related Words

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