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Who was the first American to conduct an opera at Milan's La Scala?

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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

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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

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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

It also criticised other senior spies and found "serious and systemic failures in MI5's conduct" throughout the case.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

But “given the direct overlap in grocery delivery” that DoorDash and Instacart have, Devitt said the government could conduct an “extended review” of the deal’s implications.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

But, the office said, the Los Angeles Police Department dedicates additional units during peak periods of congestion in the Lake Hollywood area to conduct traffic and parking enforcement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

While this happens, the disputed conduct often continues.

From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2026

It might get noised about that the Pontelliers had met with reverses, and were forced to conduct their ménage on a humbler scale than heretofore.

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

He also conducts what he calls a “self-audit” to rid himself of acronyms such as RMD, which stands for required minimum distribution, and QCD for qualified charitable distribution.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said that the Defense Department conducts “extensive due diligence” before extending capital assistance.

From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026

Allies are currently bracing for possible cuts to US forces in Europe as the Pentagon conducts a review of its deployments on the continent.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

The airline conducts in-house psychology checks for first officers as they graduate to captain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Anchorman Walter Cronkite conducts an interview in Hue, Vietnam, for his CBS News Special Report on the war, 1968.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

More than 80% of grocery shopping is still conducted in stores.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

For comparison, experiments conducted at similar pressures and temperatures without added platinum oxide produced excess oxygen concentrations of only 0.2% to 0.5% by weight.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

The survey released Wednesday was conducted online in English and Spanish with a sample of 2,197 likely city voters between Oct.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

In the Yale Youth Poll, conducted over the spring, “cost of living/affordability” was a top issue for 81% of surveyed 18- to 34-year-olds.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

The copper conducted the heat beautifully, and soon the water was steaming and Ruby left.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Russia's defence ministry said units from the army's Dnepr group had been conducting "engineering reconnaissance" and clearing main access roads into the village of "explosive and booby-trap devices".

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

For divarasib, Roche is conducting other late-stage clinical trials to test whether it works in earlier phases of the disease, either as a stand-alone treatment or in combination with Merck’s Keytruda.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

Nunez said Saturday's outcome was more "positive" than a week ago, with more police on the streets acting more rapidly, conducting more pre-demonstration checks and better protecting businesses.

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026

“In some ways, the decision seems already made,” Maureen Ellenberger, a Santa Barbara resident, said in August to the federal officials conducting the hearing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

Scoop on the Human Body, and spent most of the afternoon conducting background research on music.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

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