n-duhk-ter]
| 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. |
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.)
conductor con·duc·tor (kən-dŭk'tər)
n.
A substance or medium that conducts heat, light, sound, or especially an electric charge.
An instrument or probe having a groove along which a knife is passed in slitting open a sinus or fistula; a grooved director.
| conductor (kən-dŭk'tər) Pronunciation Key
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. |