conductor

American  

[kuhn-duhk-ter] / kənˈdʌk tər /

noun

• conductors
  plural

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• conductors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of conductor

First recorded in 1400–50; from Latin ( see conduce, -tor); replacing late Middle English cond(u)itour from Anglo-French, equivalent to Middle French conduiteur from Latin as above; see 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

See Examples For:

conductor conductors

A CFP serves a role more akin, in musical terms, to a conductor.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

Bouaddi functions as a deep-lying conductor - much in the same vein as Rodri - and would complement summer signing Elliot Anderson, who is more of a box-to-box midfielder.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Salonen was an unknown 26-year-old Finnish composer and conductor when he made his U.S. debut conducting the L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

L.A. has reciprocated by sending our visionaries to Salzburg, where director Peter Sellars and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, for instance, have been given the license and means to inspire a reinvention of musical and theatrical thinking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

The conductor started dancing a jig so Scruffy couldn’t latch on to the cuffs of his uniform pants and yank them down.

From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein

Phil and at 67 having become one of the world’s most impressive conductors and composers, he is moving back to L.A., where he will become the L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026

"Since India hasn't done much in AI or renewable energy or semi conductors, there are not many industries generating the kind of excitement or long-term returns investors now see elsewhere in Asia," says Sengupta.

From BBC ● May 14, 2026

During the 1980s, researchers studying ultra thin conductors at extremely low temperatures made a surprising discovery.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 1, 2026

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 ● Feb. 23, 2026

Used train passes normally do not appear in suburban wastebaskets; they appear in the pockets of train conductors.

From "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg

Related Words

• director
• maestro
• manager
• master
• supervisor