Basic Details
Word: Conductress
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A woman who collects fares and gives out tickets on a bus or tram; an older word for a female conductor.
Synonyms: conductor, ticket collector
How to Spell Conductress
Syllables: con - duc - tress
Tricky part: The or of conductor disappears before ress, and the word ends in a double s. Students often write conductoress or conductres.
Watch out for: conductoress, conductres, conductriss
Memory tip: Take conduct, add ress, and you have it: conduct + ress. Actor and actress lose their o the same way.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Our bus conductress in Kolkata knew every regular passenger by name.
Example 2: Before the bus left the depot, the conductress checked every ticket.
Example 3: With two rings of the bell from the conductress, the bus moved off.
Fun Fact
Many ess words, such as conductress, authoress and poetess, are now rarely used; people mostly say conductor, author and poet for anyone.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. pasenger 2. conductress 3. tickit 4. destinasion
a) a woman who collects fares and gives tickets on a bus
b) the place someone is travelling to
c) a printed slip that shows you have paid for a ride
d) a person travelling in a vehicle who is not driving it
Show answer
a) a woman who collects fares and gives tickets on a bus. Conductress is spelt correctly; passenger, destination and ticket are the right spellings of the rest.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The sretsudocnc punched our tickets and wished us a safe trip.
a) conductress
b) conductors
c) instructress
d) constructs
Show answer
a) conductress. Conductors has an o in place of the e and one s, constructs has no d or e, and instructress needs an i.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
conductoress
a) s
b) e
c) o
d) r
Show answer
c) o. The or of conductor is cut down to just r before ess.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Conductress is the feminine form of ____.
a) director
b) duke
c) conduct
d) conductor
Show answer
d) conductor
2. Where would you most likely meet a conductress?
a) in a hospital ward
b) at a bank counter
c) in a school library
d) on a city bus
Show answer
d) on a city bus
