Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One who conducts, especially.
  • noun One who is in charge of a railroad train, bus, or streetcar.
  • noun Music One who directs an orchestra or other such group.
  • noun Physics A substance or medium that conducts heat, light, sound, or especially an electric charge.
  • noun A lightning rod, as on a house or barn.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Specifically, in electricity, a substance through which electric currents can flow.
  • noun One who conducts or escorts; one who goes before or accompanies and shows the way; a leader; a guide.
  • noun Specifically A chief; a commander; one who leads an army.
  • noun A director or manager in general; a regulator.
  • noun The director of a chorus or an orchestra; one who indicates to the performers the rhythm and the expression of a piece of concerted music by means of motions of the hands or of a baton.
  • noun The chief official on a railroad-train, who directs, and is responsible for the execution of orders concerning, the movements of the train, and usually collects tickets or fares; hence, one who performs similar duties on a street-car, etc. The duties of the guard on European railways are similar, but less comprehensive.
  • noun That which conducts or transmits in any manner; specifically, in physics, a body that conducts or transmits through its substance energy in any of its forms: as, metals are conductors of electricity and of heat; water is a good conductor of sound. See conductivity.
  • noun Hence A lightning-rod.
  • noun In surgery, an instrument formerly used in the high operation for stone in the bladder.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One who, or that which, conducts; a leader; a commander; a guide; a manager; a director.
  • noun United States One in charge of a public conveyance, as of a railroad train or a street car.
  • noun (Mus.) The leader or director of an orchestra or chorus.
  • noun (Physics) A substance or body capable of being a medium for the transmission of certain forces, esp. heat or electricity; specifically, a lightning rod.
  • noun (Surg.) A grooved sound or staff used for directing instruments, as lithontriptic forceps, etc.; a director.
  • noun (Arch.) Same as Leader.
  • noun (Elec.) the largest conductor of an electrical machine, serving to collect, accumulate, or retain the electricity.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun One who conducts or leads; a guide; a director.
  • noun music A person who conducts an orchestra, choir or other music ensemble; a professional whose occupation is conducting.
  • noun A person who takes tickets on public transportation.
  • noun Something that can transmit electricity, heat, light or sound.
  • noun mathematics An ideal of a ring that measures how far it is from being integrally closed
  • noun A grooved sound or staff used for directing instruments, such as lithontriptic forceps; a director.
  • noun architecture A leader.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a substance that readily conducts e.g. electricity and heat
  • noun the person who leads a musical group
  • noun a device designed to transmit electricity, heat, etc.
  • noun the person who collects fares on a public conveyance

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin conductor.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word conductor.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • "The director of a chorus or an orchestra; one who indicates to the performers the rhythm and the expression of a piece of concerted music by means of motions of the hands or of a baton. The office of conductor in the modern sense was not clearly distinguished from that of leader until about 1800; formerly the leader played an instrument, usually the harpsichord."

    --CD&C

    May 13, 2012

  • that's electric eclectic!

    May 13, 2012