conduct

1 of 2

verb

con·​duct kən-ˈdəkt 

also

ˈkän-ˌdəkt 

conducted; conducting; conducts

transitive verb

1

a

: to direct or take part in the operation or management of

conduct an experiment

conduct a business

conduct an investigation

b

: to direct the performance of

conduct an orchestra

conduct an opera

c

: to lead from a position of command

conduct a siege

conduct a class

2

: to cause (oneself) to act or behave in a particular and especially in a controlled manner

conducted herself in a professional manner

3

: to bring by or as if by leading : guide

conduct tourists through a museum

4

a

: to convey in a channel

b

: to act as a medium for conveying or transmitting

Metals conduct electricity well.

intransitive verb

1

of a road or passage : to show the way : lead

2

a

: to act as leader or director

b

: to have the quality of transmitting light, heat, sound, or electricity

conductibility

kən-ˌdək-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

conductible

kən-ˈdək-tə-bəl 

adjective

conduct

2 of 2

noun

con·​duct ˈkän-(ˌ)dəkt 

1

: a mode or standard of personal behavior especially as based on moral principles

questionable conduct

2

: the act, manner, or process of carrying on : management

praised for his conduct of the campaign

3

obsolete : escort, guide

Synonyms

Verb

• administer
• administrate
• carry on
• control
• direct
• govern
• guide
• handle
• keep
• manage
• operate
• overlook
• oversee
• preside (over)
• regulate
• run
• steward
• superintend
• supervise
• tend

Noun

• administration
• care
• charge
• control
• direction
• governance
• government
• guidance
• handling
• intendance
• management
• operation
• oversight
• presidency
• regulation
• running
• stewardship
• superintendence
• superintendency
• supervision

Choose the Right Synonym for conduct

conduct, manage, control, direct mean to use one's powers to lead, guide, or dominate.

conduct implies taking responsibility for the acts and achievements of a group.

conducted negotiations

manage implies direct handling and manipulating or maneuvering toward a desired result.

manages a meat market

control implies a regulating or restraining in order to keep within bounds or on a course.

controlling his appetite

direct implies constant guiding and regulating so as to achieve smooth operation.

directs the store's day-to-day business

synonyms see in addition behave

Examples of conduct in a Sentence

Verb

The police are conducting an investigation into last week's robbery.

I like the way the company conducts business.

The magazine conducted a survey.

Who will be conducting the meeting?

The committee is expected to conduct hearings in May.

He conducts the choir with great skill and emotion.

conducting the music of Mozart

Our guide slowly conducted us through the museum.

Our guide conducted us along the path.

Noun

A panel investigated her conduct and she was subsequently fired.

the President was happy to leave the conduct of foreign affairs to his secretary of state

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Hoekstra conducted political research for the team. —Grace Hase, The Mercury News, 16 Nov. 2024

Two separate homicide teams, one at each shooting scene, are conducting the investigation. —Nbc San Diego, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024

Noun

The Supreme Court’s deference to FDR during World War II resulted in unjustifiable ethical breaches, but its new code of conduct has not resolved the question of when a justice should be disqualified from a case. —Jed S. Rakoff, The New York Review of Books, 14 Nov. 2024

But then hours later, the sheriff's department went back to the family's home near the North Carolina border, where Patterson was handcuffed, arrested, booked on suspicion of reckless conduct and forced to post $500 bail. —David K. Li, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English conducten "to guide, direct," borrowed from Latin conductus, past participle of condūcere "to bring together, join, hire, be of advantage, be conducive (to)" (Medieval Latin also "to lead, escort, provide a channel for [water]") — more at conduce

Note: Middle English also used in the same senses conduiten, with variants conduten, conditen, based on Anglo-French conduit, past participle of cunduire, conduire, going back to Latin condūcere; these forms were carried into Tudor English, but they largely expired by the seventeenth century. Compare conduit. See also note at conduce.

Noun

Middle English conduct, conducte "act of escorting," borrowed from Medieval Latin conductus "leadership, escort, retinue, hire, water channel," going back to Late Latin, "contract," from Latin condūcere "to bring together, join, hire, accept a contract for" (Medieval Latin also "to lead, escort, provide a channel for [water]") + -tus, suffix of action nouns — more at conduce

Note: The noun conduct has been influenced in sense by its verbal counterpart conduct. Already in the sixteenth century the noun was used to mean "leadership, management" and "capability in leadership or management, aptitude for command." The more general sense "behavior in a particular situation" appears in the seventeenth century. The sense development is largely paralleled by the history of French conduite, a nominal derivative from the feminine past participle of conduire "to guide, escort"; see also conduit and the note at conduce.

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing conduct

• conduct oneself
• disorderly conduct
• safe-conduct

Kids Definition

conduct

1 of 2 noun

con·​duct ˈkän-(ˌ)dəkt 

1

: the act, manner, or process of carrying on : management

the conduct of foreign affairs

2

: personal behavior

scolded for bad conduct

conduct

2 of 2 verb

con·​duct kən-ˈdəkt 

1

: guide entry 2 sense 1, escort

conducted tourists through the museum

2

: to carry on or direct from a position of command : lead

conduct a business

conduct a band

3

a

: to carry in a channel

b

: to act as a substance through which something is carried

copper conducts electricity

4

: to cause (oneself) to act in a certain manner

children conducting themselves well

Medical Definition

conduct

transitive verb

con·​duct

kən-ˈdəkt also ˈkän-ˌdəkt

: to act as a medium for conveying

intransitive verb

: to have the quality of transmitting something (as light, heat, sound, or electricity)

Legal Definition

conduct

noun

con·​duct ˈkän-ˌdəkt 

1

a

: the act, manner, or process of carrying on or managing

his conduct of the case was negligent

b

: an act or omission to act

a crime is that conduct which is defined as criminal

—Louisiana Revised Statutes

2

: mode or standard of personal behavior