commuter
Americannoun
-
commuters
plural
adjective
-
of or for commuting; serving commuters.
a commuter railroad.
-
of or relating to a flight, plane, or airline that carries passengers over relatively short distances and usually serves small communities.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of commuter
Explanation
A commuter is someone who has a lengthy trip to work, usually from a suburb to a city. Some people are lucky enough to work at home or live very close to where they work. Others are commuters: commuters need to commute — travel — to work. Being a commuter isn't easy, because it might take anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours to get from home to work and then back again, both times during rush hour. Usually, a commuter lives in the suburbs and commutes to the city, where many jobs are.
Vocabulary lists containing commuter
Eleven
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The Worst Class Trip Ever
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As Metrolink faces budget shortfalls and service reductions, the regional commuter rail network is raising its ticket prices on Monday for the first time in 13 years by as much as 27%.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
"Public transport is a shared space, and every commuter has a part to play in ensuring a gracious and pleasant commuting environment," said Singapore's LTA.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
The more social approach, and my personal preference, is to huff and glare at the human foghorn—and try to catch the eye of a fellow pissed-off commuter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Major cities in the Newark division include Elizabeth, Morristown, Montclair, Newark, as well as smaller commuter towns such as Short Hills and Glen Ridge.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Dan Dalgard drove to the primate building, one more commuter in a sea of morning traffic.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
“Everyone is struggling. For day-to-day commuters, this is another thing they have to worry about,” Frias said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
Long lines of stationary cars and buses clogged major roads on Friday as commuters sought alternate routes, with some forced to continue their journeys on foot.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
Survivors, including tens of thousands of residents, non-emergency civil servants, commuters and students, have to display symptoms first.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
This causes chaos for commuters who are forced to get on replacement buses.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Often a group 265 of meerkats will take the stance collectively, standing in a huddle and gazing in the same direction, looking like commuters waiting for a bus.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
