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

The US Embassy previously confirmed the staff member had been reassigned to the US but that it expected all personnel to "adhere to the highest standards of conduct".

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

Inspectors general are the ones who usually conduct leak investigations, which can take weeks or months.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

But he said he wouldn’t trust the VA to conduct that process because of its failure to disclose that many veterans answering a survey expressed interest in a hotel.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

The U.K. plans to conduct two programmatic gilt tenders on Tuesday for the January 2029 gilt and December 2040 gilt.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

“Do you have a preference for who should conduct the meeting?”

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

He conducts tours of the White House helipad while promoting a fertilizer brand on national television.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

Top soprano Lise Davidsen takes on Lady Macbeth; the electrifying Quinn Kelsey sings the title role; Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

A spokesperson for the veterinary medical organization’s charitable arm, which conducts the research, says the group tracks income, education level and marital status but not gender, citing too many pet households having multiple adults.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

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

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

The survey was conducted by Morning Consult for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and included 1,102 U.S. men.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

The department said officers conducted a “high-risk vehicle stop” and detained the two juvenile passengers — a boy and girl.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

It is not yet clear when the enthronement will take place, but the committee said it would be conducted in accordance with the traditions and customs of the Tooro kingdom.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

A recent poll conducted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst showed that eight out of 10 Americans believe that the war with Tehran has sent the prices of gas and other household goods soaring.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

But when Nat and Captain Prince went on shore, they found the custom officials conducted all their business in French.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

He leads the team in warmups, conducting their every move.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

In a blog post on Saturday, Amodei expressed concern about the possibility of AI agents swarming together, going rogue and conducting major cybersecurity breaches that could have devastating implications.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 12, 2026

Verdiva is conducting Phase 2 clinical trials in the U.S. for one of Sciwind’s oral therapies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Dudy said on Sunday that authorities across the airports have been conducting tests every 30 minutes "to anticipate whether the ash spread is widening or subsiding".

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

Straight-backed and severe, revolvers strapped to their belts, they moved with tranquil authority through the mass of somber battle dress and grimy faces, looking from side to side as if conducting a count.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

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