conductor

English

Alternative forms

• conductour (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French conductour, from Old French conduitor, from Latin conductor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kənˈdʌktɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: con‧duc‧tor

Noun

conductor (plural conductors)

1. One who conducts or leads; a guide; a director.
   • 1687, [John Dryden], “The Third Part”, in The Hind and the Panther. A Poem, in Three Parts, 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC, page 96:

     […] Zeal, the blind conductor of the will;

3. (music) A person who conducts an orchestra, choir or other music ensemble; a professional whose occupation is conducting.
5. (transport) A person who takes tickets on public transportation and also helps passengers.

   train conductor

   tram conductor

   • 2022 April 6, “Network News: Booze ban continues as part of move to prioritise women's safety”, in RAIL, number 954, page 6:

     " […] And one of the things that makes me feel safe is when I see the conductor."

7. (physics) Something that can transmit electricity, heat, light, or sound.

   Antonyms: dielectric, nonconductor, insulator

   Coordinate term: semiconductor

   • 1952, Safety Maintenance:

     Falling conductors may come in contact with grounded objects or puddles of water.

   • 1997, Institution of Electrical Engineers, Fourth International Conference on Advances in Power System Control, Operation & Management, 11-13 November 1997, Institution of Electrical Engineers:

     The failure of HIF detection leads to potential hazard to human beings and potential fire. HIFS are usually caused by falling conductors coming into contact with a surface having poor conductivity.

8. (mathematics) An ideal of a ring that measures how far it is from being integrally closed
   • 1988, F van Oystaeyen, Lieven Le Bruyn, Perspectives in ring theory:

     If c is the conductor ideal for R in R then prime ideals not containing c correspond to localizations yielding discrete valuation rings.

9. A grooved sound or staff used for directing instruments, such as lithontriptic forceps; a director.
10. (architecture) A leader.

Derived terms

• Bioconductor
• bus conductor
• conductoress
• conductorette
• conductorial
• conductorless
• conductorly
• conductor rail
• conductorship
• hyperconductor
• lightning conductor
• line conductor
• live conductor
• microconductor
• multiconductor
• nanoconductor
• neutral conductor
• osteoconductor
• photoconductor
• radioconductor
• reconductor
• superconductor

Related terms

• conduct

Translations

person who conducts an orchestra, choir or other music ensemble

Albanian: dirigjent (sq) m Arabic: قَائِدُ فِرْقَاتٍ مُوسِيقِيَّةٍ m (qāʔidu firqātin mūsīqiyyatin) Armenian: դիրիժոր (hy) (dirižor), խմբավար (hy) (xmbavar) Azerbaijani: dirijor Belarusian: дырыжо́р m (dyryžór), дырыге́нт m (dyryhjént), дырыге́нтка f (dyryhjéntka) Bulgarian: дириге́нт (bg) m (dirigént), дириге́нтка f (dirigéntka) Catalan: director (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 指揮 / 指挥 (zh) (zhǐhuī), 指揮家 / 指挥家 (zh) (zhǐhuījiā) Czech: dirigent (cs) m, dirigentka f Danish: dirigent c Dutch: dirigent (nl) m Estonian: dirigent Finnish: kapellimestari (fi), kuoronjohtaja (fi), orkesterinjohtaja French: chef d'orchestre (fr) m Georgian: დირიჟორი (dirižori) German: Dirigent (de) m, Dirigentin (de) f Greek: μαέστρος (el) m (maéstros) Greenlandic: nipilersortuni ussersortuusoq Hebrew: מְנַצֵּחַ (he) m (m'natséakh), מנצחת f (menatzákhat) Hindi: संचालक (hi) m (sañcālak), कंडक्टर m (kaṇḍakṭar) Hungarian: karmester (hu), karnagy (hu) Indonesian: konduktor (id), dirigen (id) Interlingua: director de orchestra Irish: stiúrthóir m Italian: direttore d'orchestra Japanese: 指揮者 (ja) (しきしゃ, shikisha) Kazakh: дирижёр (dirijer) Korean: 지휘자(指揮者) (ko) (jihwija) Kyrgyz: дирижёр (ky) (dirijyor) Latvian: diriģents (lv) m Lithuanian: dirigentas m Macedonian: дириге́нт m (dirigént), дириге́нтка f (dirigéntka) Malay: konduktor (ms) Manx: stiureyder m Maori: kaikōtui Norman: chef dé musique m Norwegian: Bokmål: dirigent m Nynorsk: dirigent m Persian: Iranian Persian: رَهْبَرِ اُرْکِسْتْر (rahbar-e orkestr), رَهْبَر (rahbar) Polish: dyrygent (pl) m, dyrygentka (pl) f Portuguese: maestro (pt) m, maestrina (pt) f Romanian: dirijor (ro) m, dirijoare (ro) f, șef de orchestră (ro) Russian: дирижёр (ru) m (dirižór) Serbo-Croatian: dirigent (sh) m Cyrillic: ра̀внатељ m, дирѝгент m Roman: ràvnatelj (sh) m, dirìgent (sh) m Slovak: dirigent m, dirigentka f Slovene: dirigent (sl) m, dirigentka f Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: dirigent m, dirigentka f Spanish: director (es) m Swedish: dirigent (sv) c Tajik: дирижёр (dirižyor) Tamil: please add this translation if you can Thai: วาทยกร (th) (waa-tá-yá-gɔɔn), ผู้อำนวยเพลง (th) (pûu-am-nuai-pleeng), คอนดักเตอร์ (kɔn-dák-dtə̂ə) Turkish: orkestra şefi (tr), koro şefi (tr), şef (tr) Ukrainian: дириге́нт m (dyryhént), дириге́нтка f (dyryhéntka) Uzbek: dirijyor (uz) Vietnamese: (please verify) nhạc trưởng (vi), (please verify) chỉ huy dàn nhạc

person who takes tickets on public transportation

Arabic: تَذْكِرِيّ m (taḏkiriyy) Armenian: ուղեկցորդ (hy) (uġekcʻord), տոմսավաճառ (hy) (tomsavačaṙ) Belarusian: канду́ктар m (kandúktar), правадні́к m (pravadník), правадні́ца f (pravadníca) Bulgarian: конду́ктор m (kondúktor) Burmese: စပယ်ရာ (my) (ca.paira) Chinese: Mandarin: 售票員 / 售票员 (zh) (shòupiàoyuán) Czech: průvodčí (cs) m or f Danish: konduktør c, togfører c Dutch: conducteur (nl) m, treinbegeleider (nl) m (Belgium) Esperanto: konduktoro Estonian: konduktor, reisisaatja Finnish: konduktööri (fi) French: contrôleur (fr), poinçonneur (fr) (ancient, in bus) Georgian: კონდუქტორი (ḳondukṭori), გამცილებელი (gamcilebeli) German: Schaffner (de) m, Kondukteur (de) m Greek: εισπράκτορας (el) m or f (eispráktoras) Hebrew: כרטיסן m (kart'isan), כרטיסנית f (kart'isanyt) Hindi: संचालक (hi) m (sañcālak), परिचालक (hi) m (paricālak) Hungarian: kalauz (hu), vonatkalauz, vonatkísérő (hu) Indonesian: kondektur (id) Ingrian: konduktora Interlingua: billetero Irish: stiúrthóir m Italian: conducente (it) Japanese: 車掌 (ja) (しゃしょう, shashō) Kamba: kondakta Kazakh: жолсерік (jolserık) Kikuyu: kondakta Korean: 차장(車掌) (ko) (chajang) Kyrgyz: жолшерик (jolşerik), проводник (provodnik) Latvian: konduktors m Lithuanian: konduktorius m Luhya: kondakita Luo: kondakta Macedonian: конду́ктор m (kondúktor), спро́водник m (spróvodnik), про́водник m (próvodnik) Malay: konduktor (ms) Manx: stiureyder m Marathi: वाहक (mr) m (vāhak), कंडक्टर m (kaṇḍakṭar) Meru: kondakta Norwegian: Bokmål: konduktør (no) m Polish: konduktor (pl) m Portuguese: condutor (pt) m (Brazil), cobrador (pt) m (Brazil), trocador (pt) m (Brazil) Romanian: conductor (ro) m Russian: конду́ктор (ru) m (kondúktor), проводни́к (ru) m (provodník), проводни́ца (ru) f (provodníca) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: конду̀кте̄р m Roman: kondùktēr (sh) m Slovak: sprievodca (sk) m, sprievodkyňa f Slovene: sprevodnik (sl) m, sprevodnica f Spanish: revisor m, guarda (es) m, inspector (es) m Swahili: kondakta (sw) Swedish: konduktör (sv) c Tajik: проводник (provodnik) Tamil: நடத்துநர் (ta) (naṭattunar) Turkish: kondüktör (tr) Ukrainian: конду́ктор (uk) m (kondúktor), провідни́к m (providnýk), провідни́ця f (providnýcja) Uzbek: provodnik (uz) Vietnamese: (please verify) người lấy vé, (conductor who sells tickets) (please verify) người bán vé, (please verify) người phục vụ hành khác Yiddish: קאָנדוקטאָר m (konduktor), קאָנדוקטאָרשע f (konduktorshe)

something which can transmit electricity, heat, light or sound

Albanian: përcjellës (sq) m Arabic: مُوَصِّل كَهْرَبَائِيّ m (muwaṣṣil kahrabāʔiyy), مُوَصِّل m (muwaṣṣil) Armenian: հաղորդիչ (hy) (haġordičʻ) Azerbaijani: keçirici Belarusian: правадні́к m (pravadník) Bulgarian: проводни́к (bg) m (provodník) Chinese: Mandarin: 導體 / 导体 (zh) (dǎotǐ) Czech: vodič (cs) m Danish: leder (da) c Dutch: geleider (nl) m Estonian: juht (et), juhe (et) Finnish: johde (fi), johdin (fi), johdatin French: conducteur (fr) Georgian: გამტარი (gamṭari) German: Leiter (de) m Greek: αγωγός (el) m (agogós) Hebrew: מוליך m (molykh) Hindi: चालक (hi) m (cālak), परिचालक (hi) m (paricālak) Hungarian: vezető (hu), hővezető (hu), áramvezető (hu) Icelandic: leiðari m, leiðir m Indonesian: konduktor (id), penghantar (id) Interlingua: conductor Irish: conduchtaire m, seoltóir m Italian: conducente (it) Japanese: 導体 (ja) (どうたい, dōtai) Kazakh: өткізгіш (kk) (ötkızgış) Khmer: (please verify) អង្គធាតុចម្លង (ʼɑng thiət cɑmlɑɑng) Korean: 도체(導體) (ko) (doche) Kyrgyz: өткөргүч (ötkörgüc) Latvian: vadītājs (lv) m Lithuanian: laidininkas m Macedonian: спроводник m (sprovodnik) Malay: konduktor (ms), pengalir Manx: leeideilagh m, condughteyr m Maori: pūkawe, pūkawe hiko (of electricity), pūkawe wera (of heat), kawehiko (Refers to an electrical conductor) Marathi: वाहक (mr) m (vāhak) Mongolian: Cyrillic: дамжуулагч (mn) (damžuulagč) Norwegian: Bokmål: leder (no) m Nynorsk: leiar (no) m Persian: رسانا (fa) (resânâ) Polish: przewodnik (pl) m Portuguese: condutor (pt) m Romanian: conductor (ro) m Russian: проводни́к (ru) m (provodník) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: конду̀ктор m, спро̀воднӣк m, про́воднӣк m Roman: kondùktor (sh) m, spròvodnīk (sh) m, próvodnīk (sh) m Slovak: vodič m Slovene: prevodnik (sl) m Spanish: conductor (es) m Swedish: ledare (sv) c Tagalog: saluyan Tajik: ноқил (noqil), мувассил (muvassil) Tamil: கடத்தி (ta) (kaṭatti) Thai: ตัวนำ (th) (dtuua-nam) Turkish: iletken (tr) Ukrainian: провідни́к m (providnýk) Urdu: مُوَصِّل (muvassil) Uzbek: oʻtkazgich (uz) Vietnamese: chất dẫn

See also

• ticket inspector

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin conductōrem (“contractor, employer”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [kun.dukˈto]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [kon.dukˈto]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [kon.dukˈtoɾ]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

conductor (feminine conductora, masculine plural conductors, feminine plural conductores)

1. driving
2. conducting

Noun

conductor m (plural conductors, feminine conductora, feminine plural conductores)

1. driver

Noun

conductor m (plural conductors)

1. (physics) conductor

Related terms

• conduir

Latin

Etymology

From condūcō (“to lead”) +‎ -tor.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [kɔnˈdʊk.tɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [konˈduk.tor]

Noun

conductor m (genitive conductōris, feminine conductrīx); third declension

1. employer, entrepreneur
2. contractor
3. (physics) conductor (of heat, electricity etc)

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	conductor	conductōrēs
genitive	conductōris	conductōrum
dative	conductōrī	conductōribus
accusative	conductōrem	conductōrēs
ablative	conductōre	conductōribus
vocative	conductor	conductōrēs

Descendants

• Catalan: conductor
• English: conductor
• French: conducteur
• Galician: conductor
• Old French: conduitor
• Portuguese: condutor
• Romanian: conducător, conductor
• Russian: конду́ктор (kondúktor)
• Spanish: conductor

References

• “conductor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “conductor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "conductor", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “conductor”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Portuguese

Noun

conductor m (plural conductores, feminine conductora, feminine plural conductoras)

1. pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal) of condutor

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French conducteur, from Latin conductor.

Noun

conductor n (plural conductoare)

1. (physics) conductor

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	conductor	conductorul		conductoare	conductoarele
genitive-dative	conductor	conductorului		conductoare	conductoarelor
vocative	conductorule			conductoarelor

Noun

conductor m (plural conductori)

1. driver
2. (physics) conductor

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	conductor	conductorul		conductori	conductorii
genitive-dative	conductor	conductorului		conductori	conductorilor
vocative	conductorule			conductorilor

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin conductorem (“contractor, employer”). Cognate with English conductor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /konduɡˈtoɾ/ [kõn̪.d̪uɣ̞ˈt̪oɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: con‧duc‧tor

Noun

conductor m (plural conductores, feminine conductora, feminine plural conductoras)

1. driver

   Synonyms: volante, chofer

2. motorist

   Synonym: motorista

3. (Mexico, Rioplatense) presenter; host (of a television show)

   Synonym: presentador

Derived terms

• registro de conductor

Related terms

• conducir

Noun

conductor m (plural conductores)

1. conductor (transmitter of electricity, heat, light or sound)

   Antonym: aislador/aislante

Derived terms

• hilo conductor

Further reading

• “conductor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025