conductor

American  

[kuhn-duhk-ter] / kənˈdʌk tər /

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.

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conductor British  

/ 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

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conductor Scientific  

/ 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 insulator See also resistance superconductivity

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conductor Cultural  

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.)

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Other Word Forms

• conductorial adjective
• conductorship noun
• conductress noun
• multiconductor adjective
• preconductor noun

Etymology

Origin of conductor

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

Although she chased cats, bit bus conductors and left messes on other people’s rugs, Tulip was inarguably the love of J.R.

From The Wall Street Journal

Phil music director, by dwelling on the composer he says has meant the most to him since his earliest days as a kid conductor in Caracas.

From Los Angeles Times

OpenAI, Google, and others followed, and now some developers see themselves as conductors of an orchestra of coding agents that are simultaneously working on different parts of an application at the same time.

From Barron's

“To share these performances in the place where I first stood before this orchestra, surrounded by the city and the stars, is an immense source of pride and gratitude,” the conductor said.

From Los Angeles Times

"There are lots of very talented artists in the city, but they don't know how to read music because they learnt on the job," said Michel Lutangamo, a professor and conductor at the INA.

From Barron's

Related Words

• director
• maestro
• manager
• master
• supervisor