conduction

conduction — noun

1. the way that heat or electricity moves through a material by passing energy from

1.nounB2
Definition

the way that heat or electricity moves through a material by passing energy from one particle of the material to the next, without the material itself travelling

Example

Heat conduction through the metal handle made Ziad's frying pan too hot to touch.

uncountable noun as subject: heat conduction + through [material]

Isabela learned about electrical conduction by connecting a copper wire to a small bulb.

compound noun: electrical conduction

Common collocations
  • heat conduction
  • electrical conduction
  • nerve conduction
  • thermal conduction
  • conduction of heat
  • conduction of electricity
  • rate of conduction
  • poor conduction
  • good conduction
Synonyms
  • transmission

    a broader term that can also refer to signals, diseases, or waves; conduction is a specific type of transmission through a material

  • transfer

    more general; transfer can happen through radiation or convection as well, while conduction specifically involves particle-to-particle contact

Antonyms
  • insulation

    the opposite process, where heat or electricity is prevented from passing through a material

Grammar Patterns

uncountable noun: conduction

compound noun: heat conduction / electrical conduction / nerve conduction

Usage Note

An uncountable noun — never used with 'a' or in plural form. Often appears as part of a compound noun: 'heat conduction', 'electrical conduction', or 'nerve conduction' (in medical contexts).

Common Mistakes

Copper has a good conduction.
Copper has good conduction.
conduction is uncountable and does not take 'a'.
The wires have different conductions.
The wires have different levels of conduction.
no plural form exists.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Conduction' and 'transmission' both describe the movement of energy, but 'conduction' is more specific — it refers to heat or electricity moving through a material via particle-to-particle contact, whereas 'transmission' is broader and covers signals, diseases, or waves travelling through any medium. 'Conductivity' describes the property or measure of how well a material allows conduction (e.g. 'Copper has high conductivity'), while 'conductance' is an electrical-engineering term for how easily electricity flows through a specific component. For everyday science contexts, 'conduction' names the process, 'conductivity' names the material's ability, and 'transmission' covers the wider category.

conduction ↗transmission ↗conductivity ↗conductance

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • by means of conduction
  • rate of conduction
  • mode of conduction

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

From the Latin word 'conductio', meaning 'a bringing together'. This came from 'con-' (together) and 'ducere' (to lead). The modern physics meaning — the way heat or electricity travels through a material — became common in the 1700s as scientists studied how energy moves.