Definition of "conduct"
conduct
noun
countable and uncountable, plural conducts
Skillful guidance or management.
Quotations
If thou wilt ſtay with me renowmed man,And lead thy thouſand horſe with my conduct,Beſides thy ſhare of this Egyptian prize,Thoſe thouſand horſe shall ſweat with martiall ſpoyleOf conquered kingdomes, and of Cities ſackt, […]
c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, (please specify the page)
[…] attacked the Spaniards […] with great impetuosity, but with so little conduct, that his forces were totally routed.
1769, William Robertson, The History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles V. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] W. and W. Strahan, for W[illiam] Strahan, T[homas] Cadell, […]; and J. Balfour, […]
At the head of that division which had Westminster Bridge for its approach to the scene of action, Lord George Gordon took his post; with Gashford at his right hand, and sundry ruffians, of most unpromising appearance, forming a kind of staff about him. The conduct of a second party, whose route lay by Blackfriars, was entrusted to a committee of management
1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge”, in Master Humphrey’s Clock, volume III, London: Chapman & Hall, […], chapter 49
Behaviour; the manner of behaving.
Quotations
when she came to recall the affectionate and natural manner of the young Indian girl, and all the evidences of good faith and sincerity she had seen in her conduct during the familiar intercourse of their journey, she rejected the idea with the unwillingness of a generous disposition to believe ill of others
1840, [James Fenimore Cooper], The Pathfinder: Or, The Inland Sea. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), Philadelphia, Pa.: Lea and Blanchard
All these difficulties were increased by the conduct of Shrewsbury.
1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volumes (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans
What in the conduct of our life appears / So well designed, so luckily begun, / But when we have our wish, we wish undone?
1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Tenth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: Printed for Jacob Tonson […]
(obsolete) Convoy; escort; person who accompanies another.
Quotations
1598, Benjamin Jonson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Euery Man in His Humour. A Comœdie. […]”, in The Workes of Ben Jonson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)
(Anglicanism, obsolete outside fixed titles) A priest hired to hold services without secure title; now a chaplain.
Quotations
[…] at this present it is one of the most goodly and uniform Colledges in Europe; wherein is a Master, 60 Fellows, 67 scholars, 4 Conducts, 3 Publique Professours […] besides officers and servants of the foundation, with many other students, being in all 440.
1634, “Trinitie Colledge”, in The foundation of the Universitie of Cambridge […] Anno 1634
verb
third-person singular simple present conducts, present participle conducting, simple past and past participle conducted
(archaic, transitive) To lead, or guide; to escort.
Quotations
I can conduct you, lady, to a low / But loyal cottage, where you may be safe.
1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903,
(transitive) To lead; to direct; to be in charge of (people or tasks)
Quotations
the Turks, however efficient they may have been in field operations, had little skill as engineers, and no acquaintance with the true principles of conducting a siege
1855–1858, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson, and Company
(transitive, music) To direct, as the leader in the performance of a musical composition.
Quotations
For a while, Walter Pohlmann, a well-known German conductor, conducted the orchestra in Compound 3. Later, Willi Mets, who had conducted the world-renowned Leipzig Symphony Orchestra, conducted the Compound 3 orchestra.
2006, Michael R. Waters, Mark Long, William Dickens, Lone Star Stalag: German Prisoners of War at Camp Hearne