conduit

[kon-dwit, -doo-it, -dyoo-it, -dit]

noun

1. a pipe, tube, or the like, for conveying water or other fluid.

   Synonyms: channel, main, duct

2. a similar natural passage.

3. any means of transmission or conveyance, as of information.

   According to rumor, he served as a conduit for Israeli intelligence.

4. Electricity.,  a structure containing one or more ducts.

5. Archaic.,  a fountain.

conduit

/ ˈkɒndɪt, -djʊɪt /

noun

1. a pipe or channel for carrying a fluid

2. a rigid tube or duct for carrying and protecting electrical wires or cables

3. an agency or means of access, communication, etc

4. botany a water-transporting element in a plant; a xylem vessel or a tracheid

5. a rare word for fountain

Word History and Origins

Origin of conduit¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English conduit, condut, condewit, condit, from Old French conduit, from Medieval Latin conductus “pipe channel”; conduce, duct

Word History and Origins

Origin of conduit¹

C14: from Old French, from Medieval Latin conductus channel, aqueduct, from Latin condūcere to lead, _conduce

Example Sentences

Agency for International Development, the traditional conduit for American foreign assistance.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The CPC pipeline, which begins in Kazakhstan and ends at the terminal, is a major conduit for Kazakh oil and one of the world's largest by volume, handling around one percent of global supplies.

Read more on Barron's

Something comparable happens in a volcanic conduit: magma near the walls travels more slowly than magma in the center.

Read more on Science Daily

Wyeth and Maxfield Parrish—retained critical and popular esteem, but most were ignored by middle-class tastemakers or maligned as conduits of cultural degeneration.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Social-media companies build products that thrive on our worst impulses and then hide behind the claim that they are neutral conduits for speech.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• duct 
• pipe 
• pipeline