conductor:

(plural: ‘conductors‘; female: ‘conductress‘; pronunciation: both the ‘c’s’ in this word are said with a ‘k’ sound as in “king”)

a music conductor with his orchestra

an expert musician who guides a group of musicians (an orchestra) or a chorus of singers in a concert – showing or guiding the musicians ‘who to play when’, with a baton (a small stick) or with his hands;a person whose job is to give tickets and take money from the passengers on a public transport bus;

an employee who is in charge of a railway train on its journey, and also, on some trains, the man who issues tickets and collects fares from the passengers;

a leader or a guide who shows the way to others (the followers),

a bus conductor issuing tickets

e.g.

A conductor of any kind is not just a man who guides or shows the way to others; he is the one who leads the participants in the right way and makes the entire activity a grand success.

A music conductor must understand all aspects of music — knowing the music notes, playing more than two music instruments and having the skill to lead a group of musicians, i.e. an orchestra.

The railway conductors are of different types: some of them travel on trains to look after the passengers or goods and the other members of the crew, but some stay at a yard/station and look after the trains checking their condition and fitness and overseeing the smooth running of trains in and out of the yard/station.

A bus conductor has more than one task at any given time, while on duty — issuing tickets to the passengers and collecting money, asking the driver to stop the bus at specified stops and keeping a look-out for the ticketless passengers who try to hitch a free ride.

a conductor guiding people

For an article on what a music conductor is, please click here, and for a story that tells us about a bus conductor becoming a film star, please click here. For an informative article on railroad conductors, please click here.

a lightning conductor/rod

A more common usage is a metal rod or spike which receives electric current or heat freely, e.g. “A copper wire is a good conductor of electric current, but a rubber glove is bad conductor.”  &  “A lightning conductor or lightning rod is a strong thick metal rod which is fixed on top of a tall building so that when there is lightning in the sky close by the building, the conductor/rod attracts the electric current of the lightning and passes it to the ground along a strong and long metal wire, another good conductor, whose one end is attached to it and runs downs along the building, with the other end fixed in the ground where electric power of the lightning is neutralised without any damage to the building.” For an interesting article on what a lightning rod (in American & Australian English) or lightning conductor (in British English) is, please click here.

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About the Author:BC Kumar

BC Kumar, an English Language Teacher, taught in numerous countries including Ethiopia, Oman and India, shares his knowledge and passion for the English Language. Disclaimer: This is a free educational website and all content has been compiled by the author. All copyrights to images and videos belong to their respective owners.

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