conduct

American  

[kon-duhkt, kuhn-duhkt] / ˈkɒn dʌkt, kənˈdʌkt /

noun

1. personal behavior; way of acting; bearing or deportment.

   Synonyms:

   manners, actions, comportment, demeanor

2. direction or management; administration.

   the conduct of a business.

   Synonyms:

   government, guidance

3. the act of conducting; guidance.

   The curator's conduct through the museum was informative.

4. Obsolete. a guide; an escort.

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verb (used with object)

• conducts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• conducted,
  past participle,  past
• conducting
  present participle

1. to behave or manage (oneself).

   He conducted himself well.

   Synonyms:

   bear, deport

2. to direct in action or course; manage; carry on: to conduct a test.

   to conduct a meeting;

   to conduct a test.

   Synonyms:

   administer, supervise

3. to direct (an orchestra, chorus, etc.) as leader.

4. to lead or guide; escort.

   to conduct a tour.

5. to serve as a channel or medium for (heat, electricity, sound, etc.).

   Copper conducts electricity.

verb (used without object)

• conducts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• conducted,
  past participle,  past
• conducting
  present participle

1. to lead.

2. to act as conductor, or leader of a musical group, by communicating a specific interpretation of the music to the performers by motions of a baton or the hands.

conduct British  

noun

1. the manner in which a person behaves; behaviour

2. the way of managing a business, affair, etc; handling

3. rare the act of guiding or leading

4. rare a guide or leader

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verb

1. (tr) to accompany and guide (people, a party, etc) (esp in the phrase conducted tour )

2. (tr) to lead or direct (affairs, business, etc); control

3. (tr) to do or carry out

   conduct a survey

4. (tr) to behave or manage (oneself)

   the child conducted himself well

5. Also (esp US): direct.  to control or guide (an orchestra, choir, etc) by the movements of the hands or a baton

6. to transmit (heat, electricity, etc)

   metals conduct heat

Usage

What are other ways to say conduct?

To conduct oneself is to behave or manage oneself. To conduct a tour is to lead or guide it. How does conduct compare to synonyms guide, direct, and lead? Find out on Thesaurus.com.

Synonym Usage

See behavior.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• conductibility
  noun
• nonconductibility
  noun
• preconduct
  verb (used with object)
• reconduct
  verb (used with object)
• conductible
  adjective
• nonconductible
  adjective
• unconductible
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• conducting
  present
• conducted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• conduct
  simple
• conducts
  simple
• have conducted
  perfect
• has conducted
  perfect
• am conducting
  progressive
• are conducting
  progressive
• is conducting
  progressive
• have been conducting
  perfect progressive
• has been conducting
  perfect progressive

Past

• conducted
  simple
• had conducted
  perfect
• was conducting
  progressive
• were conducting
  progressive
• had been conducting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will conduct
  simple
• will have conducted
  perfect
• will be conducting
  progressive
• will have been conducting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of conduct

First recorded in 1250–1300; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin conductus “escort,” noun use of Latin conductus (past participle of condūcere “to lead, bring together”), equivalent to con- con- + duc- “to lead” + -tus past participle suffix; replacing Middle English conduyt(e), from Anglo-French, from Latin as above; see conduit; conduce

Explanation

The noun conduct refers to behavior, like how students are rewarded for good conduct. The verb conduct means carry something through, as in "to conduct a survey." And if you lead an orchestra, you conduct it. Your conduct (accent on the first syllable), or your own behavior, is the way you conduct (accent on the second syllable), or lead, yourself. Keep the accent on the second syllable to conduct, or lead, an orchestra, and to conduct an interview by asking someone questions. Also, metals like copper or gold conduct electricity by letting the electricity pass through.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conduct conducts conducted conducting

“Nick cannot show that Mr. Kanin’s conduct — rather than the unresolved legal question that persists under an entirely different trustee — caused any delay in his receipt of the distribution.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

“China’s maritime forces are steadily improving their ability to conduct increasingly complex operations,” said Tristan Tang, a Taipei-based Nonresident Fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

The fifth player, Alex Formenton, was also deemed to have broken conduct rules, but is now being reinstated.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Normally, when a death occurs inside a cellblock, facility executives dispatch clergy, rehabilitation coordinators, and mental health counselors to conduct psychological welfare checks.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

How many times had she been told that no proper member of an upright Confucian family ever questioned the conduct of elders?

From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord

Tielemans cuts a relaxed figure as he conducts his first extended media interview since his switch from Villa, taking time to personally shake hands with all the journalists present.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

“He’s playing better than most of the professional pianists I’ve worked with,” says Hurwitz, who regularly conducts “La La Land in Concert.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

June 18: The 737 MAX 10, the biggest model of the jet, conducts its first-ever flight.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

To complicate things, Murderbot has installed a mental-health module that conducts “emotion checks” whenever the cyborg’s organic-neural tissue starts to “generate weird chemicals and whatever.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

The Institute conducts research into ways to protect soldiers against biological weapons and natural infectious diseases.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

Also conducted by UT Health San Antonio, it became a major, long-term observational study focused on chronic diseases, healthy aging and the process through which older adults develop disabilities.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

Polygamy is legally recognised in Zimbabwe and South Africa if conducted under specific established customs.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

The online survey was conducted among 1,000 U.S. retail investors evenly split across four generations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

“As a result, three additional searches were conducted within Palomar Mountain State Park based on potential investigative leads.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The Congressional Union also started “suffrage schools” to educate women about the issue and, according to Paul, they conducted “an uninterrupted series of indoor and outdoor meetings, numbering frequently from five to ten a day.”

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

The Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting a parallel investigation into both companies, according to their regulatory filings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

China has since warned its citizens against travel to Japan and imposed trade restrictions, while also conducting regular patrols around disputed islands.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

This summer, the company is building a 2.6-mile road in the area and conducting geotechnical drilling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Craig said that from her seat in Congress, she took on the administration by conducting oversight, helping get constituents released from custody and fighting against the opening of new detention centers in Minnesota.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

If there now is to be any hope for conducting the match, Fischer must be subjected to just penalty.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• attend
• control
• direct
• handle
• keep
• manage
• operate
• order
• organize
• oversee
• regulate
• run
• supervise