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

For months, the Central Military Commission has signalled that it would conduct a crackdown.

Read more on BBC

The bank also said it was conducting a review of its risk management by an outside party, according to a FactSet transcript.

Read more on MarketWatch

Although the study was conducted in mice, scientists say that if similar results are seen in humans, cysteine from food or supplements might offer a new way to help the intestine recover faster after injury.

Read more on Science Daily

Such outsized reactions to earnings reports are increasingly the norm, according to research conducted by Bespoke Investment, as you can see from the chart below.

Read more on MarketWatch

North Korea has conducted about a dozen public weapons tests this year, a decline from the 20 to 30 annual launches in recent years.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

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.