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

Explanation

A train conductor is the person who takes tickets, shouts "All aboard!" and might control the engine, while a musical conductor is the one who leads an orchestra. Same job title — not the same person. From the Latin root conducere, meaning "bring together," a conductor does just that. A music conductor makes sure all the musicians come in at the right time and tempo, and a train conductor brings together all of the passengers. Another type of conductor is something that passes on electricity or heat, like a metal spoon, a conductor of heat when left in a pot that's simmering on the stove.

Example Sentences

Look, for instance, for a conductor with a clock as a face, dancing luggage and a cicada jug band, among a host of other oddities.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

Tellingly, Handler had already been scheduled to be the first conductor to follow Dudamel’s final Hollywood Bowl concert as L.A.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

Ruth Andreas-Friedrich, a non-Jewish journalist, formed a resistance group with her partner, an orchestra conductor named Leo Borchard, to protect Jews and help them escape.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

The conductor was Kurt Masur, a German who had been conscripted by the Nazis as a teenager.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

Andrew and Carleton would go on to become a train conductor and an engineer, respectively.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

• director
• maestro
• manager
• master
• supervisor