conduct 286
leisure centre. | The government is to conduct an inquiry into
the incident. 3 [T+obj+adv/prep] fml to behave (yourself): I think
he conducted himself admirably, considering the difficult cir-
cumstances. 4 [I;T] to direct the playing of (musicians or a
musical work) 5 [T] to act as the path for (electricity, heat
etc): Plastic and rubber won't conduct electricity, but copper
will. → see also CONDUCTOR
con·duct² /'kɒndʌkt, -dækt||'kɑ:n-/ n [U] 1 fml behaviour:
The reporter was accused of unethical/unprofessional
conduct. | a prize for good conduct 2 ([of]) direction of the
course of (a business, activity etc): dissatisfaction with the
conduct of the war/the negotiations
con·duc·tion /kən'dʌkʃən/ n [U] the passage of electricity
along wires, water through pipes etc
con·duc·tive /kən'dʌktɪv/ adj tech able to conduct electri-
city, heat etc: Copper is a very conductive metal. —tivity
/ˌkɒndʌk'tɪvɪti||ˌkɑ:n-/ n [U] the high conductivity of copper
con,ductive edu'cation n a system for teaching children
with CEREBRAL PALSY to use their minds and bodies as much
as they possibly can. It was developed in Hungary by Dr
Andras Peto.
con·duc·tor /kən'dʌktər/ n 1 a person who directs the
playing of a group of musicians, usually by waving a
BATON 2 something that acts as a path for electricity, heat
etc: Wood is a poor conductor of heat. → see also LIGHTNING
CONDUCTOR 3 a person employed to collect payments from
passengers on a public vehicle. Conductors on buses are now
quite rare in Britain and the US; it is more usual to buy a
ticket before travelling or to pay the DRIVER of the vehi-
cle. 4 especially AmE the guard on a train
con'ductor rail || usually third rail, live rail AmE— n tech
the RAIL from which electricity is passed to an electric
railway engine
con·duct·ress /kən'dʌktrɪs/ n old-fash a female CONDUCTOR
con·duit /'kɒndɪt, 'kɒndju:ʃt||'kɑ:ndu:ʃt/ n a pipe or passage
for carrying water, gas, a set of electric wires etc: (fig.) a
foreign-registered company serving as a conduit for money
flowing out of the country
C1 /ˌsi: 'wʌn/ n BrE a word used by advertising companies,
political parties etc to talk about a typical WORKING-CLASS
person who does a MANUAL job (=working with the hands)
that needs a lot of skill: Most of the voters in this area are
C1s. → compare C2
cone¹ /kəʊn/ n 1 a solid figure with a round base and a
point at the top → see also CONIC, CONICAL 2 a hollow or
solid object shaped like this: The police put those cones in the
road as warning signs. 3 the fruit of a PINE or FIR tree → see
also CONIFER 4 also cornet BrE — a thin pastry container for
ICE CREAM pointed at one end, to be eaten together with its
contents
cone² v
cone sthg. ↔ off phr v [T] to close (a road or part of a road)
to traffic by putting a row of CONES across or along it
cone-head /'kəʊnhed/ n AmE humor an imaginary person from
another world who has a head shaped like a cone but
otherwise looks like a human. Coneheads know very little
about human life and customs and are always surprised by
them. Coneheads were created by performers on the Ameri-
can television programme Saturday Night Live.
co·ney /'kəʊni/ n a rabbit; CONY
Coney Island an area of Brooklyn, New York, famous for its
amusement park and BEACH
con·fab·u·late /kən'fæbjʊleɪt/ v [I(with)] pomp to talk
together
con·fab·u·la·tion /ˌkɒnˌfæbjʊ'leɪʃən/ also con·fab
/'kɒnfæbl||'kɑ:n-/ infml— n pomp a private conversation: Let's
have a short confab about it before we decide.
con·fec·tion /kən'fekʃən/ n fml a sweet-tasting dish
con·fec·tion·er /kən'fekʃənər/ n a person who makes or
sells sweets, ice cream, cakes etc
con'fectioner's sugar n [U] AmE for ICING SUGAR
con·fec·tion·ery /kən'fekʃənəri/ n 1 [U] sweets, ice
cream, cakes etc 2 [C] a confectioner's shop
con·fed·er·a·cy /kən'fedərəsi/ n [C+sing./pl. v] a union of
people, parties, or states, especially for political purposes or
trade
Confederacy, the also the Con,federate 'States in the
American Civil War, the southern states of the US, which
fought the northern states (the Union) and lost. Their most
famous leaders were Jefferson DAVIS and General Robert E.
LEE.
con·fed·er·ate¹ /kən'fedərɪt/ adj (sometimes cap.) belonging
to a confederacy or to the Confederacy: the Confederate
Army/States
confederate² n 1 derog a person who shares in a crime;
ACCOMPLICE 2 a member of a confederacy 3 (often cap.) AmE
derog a person who (today) shares the political views and
aims of the Confederacy
con·fed·er·ate³ /kən'fedəreɪt/ v [I;T] to (cause to) combine
in a confederacy: In 1949 Newfoundland was confederated
with Canada through a referendum.
Con,federate flag n the flag of the CONFEDERACY, which is
still used, especially by people in the South of the US
**CULTURAL NOTE** The Confederate flag is still often seen
today, especially in the South. Some people fly the flag
just to show that they are proud to be a Southerner, but
other people fly the flag to show that they think that white
people are better than black people.
con·fed·er·a·tion /kənˌfedə'reɪʃən/ n a confederacy
Confede,ration of ,British 'Industry, the the full
name of the CBI
con·fer /kən'fɜ:r/ v -rr- fml 1 [I(with)] to talk together; com-
pare opinions: The minister is still conferring with his advis-
ers. 2 [T(on, upon)] to give (a title, honour, favour etc): An
honorary degree was conferred on him by the university.
—ment n [C;U]
con·fe·rence /'kɒnfərəns||'kɑ:n-/ n [(on)] 1 a formal meet-
ing, e.g. between people who share the same business
interests or belong to the same political party, which is held
so that opinions and ideas can be exchanged: My boss
attended a conference on plastics last weekend. | The Historical
Association/Labour Party are holding their annual conference
next week. | The manager cannot see you now; she is in
conference. (=having a business meeting) → see also PRESS
CONFERENCE 2 especially AmE in a group of teams which play
against each other; LEAGUE: College football has two main
conferences, the PAC 10 and the Big Ten.
conference call n a telephone call in which several
people in different places can all talk to each other
conference centre BrE || conference center AmE— n a
building with office equipment which can be hired by com-
panies as a place for holding meetings, EXHIBITIONS, and other
business events
conference table n a large table in an office where
meetings are held
con·fess /kən'fes/ v 1 [I;T(to)] to admit (a fault, crime, or
something wrong that you have done): The prisoner has
confessed (her crime/to the murder). | [+v-ing] He confessed (to)
leaving the cigarette on the chair. | [+(that)] Jean confessed
(that) she'd eaten all the cakes. | I have to/must confess I
didn't believe him at first. | [+obj+adj] (fml) The police have
confessed themselves (to be) completely puzzled by this strange
crime. 2 [I;T(to)] tech to tell (your faults) to a priest or to God:
to confess one's sins 3 [T] tech (of a priest) to hear the
CONFESSION of (a person)
con·fessed /kən'fest/ adj [A] not secret; having admitted it:
Mrs Jones is a (self-)confessed alcoholic. | a confessed criminal
—ly /'fesɪdli/ adv
con·fes·sion /kən'feʃən/ n 1 [C;U] (an example of) the act
of admitting your crimes, faults etc: I've got a confession to
make – I scraped your car when I was parking mine. | He
wrote and signed a full confession of his guilt. | To reintroduce
the tax would be a confession of failure by the government. |
(humor) 'I haven't brushed my teeth today.' 'What a confes-
sion!' 2 [C;U] (an example of) the act of telling your faults to
a priest privately, for example in the confessional