conduit

American  

[kon-dwit, -doo-it, -dyoo-it, -dit] / ˈkɒn dwɪt, -du ɪt, -dju ɪt, -dɪt /

noun

• conduits
  plural

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.

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conduit British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• conduits
  plural

Etymology

Origin of conduit

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

Explanation

Instead of complaining about your chores, be grateful for the conduit, or pipe, that brings water to your home. Thanks to it, you don't have to go fetch water from the well whenever your mom wants a cup of coffee. The noun conduit comes from root words meaning "pipe," and the word retains this definition. For example, a channel between a reservoir and a water treatment plant could be called a conduit. Conduit can also be used in a figurative sense to refer to someone or something that conveys goods, information, or ideas. For instance, a religious leader might be seen as a conduit who brings divine messages to the people.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conduit conduits

It serves as a conduit between riskier, volatile cryptocurrencies and the conventional finance system, essentially used as an offshore dollar.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

As for the government’s anti-corruption interest, the court was not convinced that limiting coordinated party expenditures was necessary to curb conduit corruption.

From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026

The combined spending in the past two quarters on AI-related equipment even padded GDP more than consumer spending, typically the main conduit by which the economy grows.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026

Still, one of the surprises of the monthslong closure of the Middle East’s most critical energy conduit was that the global economy didn’t suffer a more severe shock.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

As Barack’s adviser, I was meant to act as a social conduit more than anything.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

There’s no evidence that this generation intends to make pining their only romantic activity; it’s more that they are very content, at the moment, to luxuriate in the many conduits for yearning available to them.

From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2026

The team focused on radar images showing localized surface collapses and applied a specialized imaging technique they developed to detect and analyze underground conduits near skylights.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 12, 2026

“The three primary conduits for sustained inflation are housing, labor and energy,” Dutta pointed out.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 23, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

Here, people whisper, the Germans have renovated two kilometers of subterranean corridors under the medieval walls; they have built new defenses, new conduits, new escape routes, underground complexes of bewildering intricacy.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Related Words

• duct
• pipe
• pipeline