conductor

[kuh n-duhk-ter] /kənˈdʌk tər/
noun
1.
a person who conducts; a leader, guide, director, or manager.
2.
an employee on a bus, train, or other public conveyance, who is in charge of the conveyance and its passengers, collects fares or tickets, etc.
3.
a person who directs an orchestra or chorus, communicating to the performers by motions of a baton or the hands his or her interpretation of the music.
4.
a substance, body, or device that readily conducts heat, electricity, sound, etc.:
Copper is a good conductor of electricity.
5.
lightning rod.
Origin
1400-50; < Latin (see conduce, -tor); replacing late Middle English cond(u)itour < Anglo-French, equivalent to Middle French conduiteur < Latin as above; see conduit
Related forms
conductorial
[kon-duhk-tawr-ee-uh l, -tohr-] /ˌkɒn dʌkˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr-/ (Show IPA), adjective
conductorship, noun
multiconductor, adjective
preconductor, noun
Examples from the web for conductors
  • Upon these my conductors seated themselves, signing for me to do likewise.
  • Her strongly interpretive playing has made her a favorite among many conductors and reviewers.
  • Other people claim that the dullness of opera is due to the conductors.
  • We're on the open road now, without conductors and timetables.
  • Amtrak conductors use mobile devices to read tickets.
  • Until recently, plastics were known more for being insulators than conductors or semiconductors.
  • Ticket validity is checked by conductors on the train, rather than at barriers at the stations.
  • Unlike plug-in chargers, the conductors are not exposed.
  • The materials that were better heat conductors would melt the butter more quickly.
  • As the generator cannot be grounded, yer gonna need two conductors.
British Dictionary definitions for conductors

conductor

/kənˈdʌktə/
noun
1.
an official on a bus who collects fares, checks tickets, etc
2.
Also called (esp US) director. a person who conducts an orchestra, choir, etc
3.
a person who leads or guides
4.
(US & Canadian) a railway official in charge of a train
5.
a substance, body, or system that conducts electricity, heat, etc
6.
See lightning conductor
Derived Forms
conductorship, noun
conductress (kənˈdʌktrɪs) noun:feminine
Word Origin and History for conductors

conductor

n.

1520s, "one who leads or guides," from Middle French conductour (14c., Old French conduitor), from Latin conductor "one who hires, contractor," in Late Latin "a carrier," from conductus, past participle of conducere (see conduce).

Earlier in same sense was conduitour (early 15c., from Old French conduitor). Meaning "leader of an orchestra or chorus" is from 1784; meaning "one who has charge of passengers and collects fares on a railroad" is 1832, American English. Physics sense of "object or device that passes heat" is from 1745; of electricity from 1737.

conductors in Medicine

conductor con·duc·tor (kən-dŭk'tər)
n.

  1. A substance or medium that conducts heat, light, sound, or especially an electric charge.

  2. An instrument or probe having a groove along which a knife is passed in slitting open a sinus or fistula; a grooved director.

conductors in Science
conductor
(kən-dŭk'tər)
A material or an object that conducts heat, electricity, light, or sound. Electrical conductors contain electric charges (usually electrons) that are relatively free to move through the material; a voltage applied across the conductor therefore creates an electric current. Insulators (electrical nonconductors) contain no charges that move when subject to a voltage. Compare insulator. See also resistance, superconductivity.

conductors in Culture

conductor definition


A material through which electric current can pass. In general, metals are good conductors. Copper or aluminum is normally used to conduct electricity in commercial and household systems. (Compare insulator.)