conductor

Noun

conductor (plural conductors)

1. One who conducts or leads; a guide; a director.
   • […]Zeal, the blind conductor of the will;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
2. A person who conducts an orchestra, choir or other music ensemble; a professional whose occupation is conducting.
3. A person who takes tickets on public transportation and also helps passengers.
   • train conductor
   • tram conductor
4. Something that can transmit electricity, heat, light, or sound.
   • Falling conductors may come in contact with grounded objects or puddles of water.1952, Safety Maintenance
   • 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.1997, Institution of Electrical Engineers, Fourth International Conference on Advances in Power System Control, Operation & Management, 11-13 November 1997, Institution of Electrical Engineers

   Antonyms:

   dielectric, nonconductor, insulator

5. An ideal of a ring that measures how far it is from being integrally closed
   • If c is the conductor ideal for R in R then prime ideals not containing c correspond to localizations yielding discrete valuation rings.1988, F van Oystaeyen, Lieven Le Bruyn, Perspectives in ring theory
6. A grooved sound or staff used for directing instruments, such as lithontriptic forceps; a director.
7. A leader.