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• commune
  commune

  verb (used without object)

  to converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity, intimacy, etc.; interchange thoughts or feelings.
• Commune
  Commune

  noun

  See Paris Commune

commune

¹ American  

[kuh-myoon, kom-yoon] / kəˈmjun, ˈkɒm jun /

verb (used without object)

communed, communing

1. to converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity, intimacy, etc.; interchange thoughts or feelings.

2. to be in intimate communication or rapport.

   to commune with nature.

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noun

1. interchange of ideas or sentiments.

commune ² American  

[kom-yoon] / ˈkɒm jun /

noun

1. a small group of persons living together, sharing possessions, work, income, etc., and often pursuing unconventional lifestyles.

2. a close-knit community of people who share common interests.

3. the smallest administrative division in France, Italy, Switzerland, etc., governed by a mayor assisted by a municipal council.

4. a similar division in some other country.

5. any community organized for the protection and promotion of local interests, and subordinate to the state.

6. the government or citizens of a commune.

7. people's commune.

8. Also called Commune of Paris,.  Also called Paris Commune.  the Commune.

   1. a revolutionary committee that took the place of the municipality of Paris in the revolution of 1789, usurped the authority of the state, and was suppressed by the National Convention in 1794.

   2. a socialistic government of Paris from March 18 to May 27, 1871.

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commune ³ American  

[kuh-myoon] / kəˈmjun /

verb (used without object)

communed, communing

1. to partake of the Eucharist.

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commune ¹ British  

/ ˈkɒmjuːn /

noun

1. a group of families or individuals living together and sharing possessions and responsibilities

2. any small group of people having common interests or responsibilities

3. the smallest administrative unit in Belgium, France, Italy, and Switzerland, governed by a mayor and council

4. the government or inhabitants of a commune

5. a medieval town enjoying a large degree of autonomy

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commune ² British  

verb

1. to talk or converse intimately

2. to experience strong emotion or spiritual feelings (for)

   to commune with nature

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noun

1. intimate conversation; exchange of thoughts; communion

Commune ³ British  

/ ˈkɒmjuːn /

noun

1. See Paris Commune

2. a committee that governed Paris during the French Revolution and played a leading role in the Reign of Terror: suppressed 1794

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commune ⁴ British  

/ kəˈmjuːn /

verb

1. (intr) Christianity to partake of Communion

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Other Word Forms

• communer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of commune¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English com(m)unen “to share, have in common, associate with, tell stories, communicate,” from Middle French com(m)uner, com(m)uniier “to make common, have in common, share,” derivative of comun common

Origin of commune²

First recorded in 1785–95; from French, from Medieval Latin commūna, commūnia (feminine singular), alteration of Latin commūne (neuter singular), or commūnia (neuter plural) “community, state,” originally neuter of commūnis common

Origin of commune³

First recorded in 1325–1375; Middle English; back formation from communion

Explanation

A commune is a group living situation where people share everything. Communes were popular with the peace-loving hippies of the 1960s. In Europe, a commune is a small administrative district. But in America, it's a way of life. A bunch of people with similar beliefs might all decide to get a big house and live communally, sharing the cooking, bills, and everything else. You can also commune with something, like nature: that means to be in tune with nature and very receptive to it. To commune can also mean to receive the Catholic communion.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

commune Commune communed communing

Rebecca Papin, a French-American visiting her holiday home in the commune of Biscarrosse, near to the Cap Ferret peninsula, saw a large plume of smoke in the distance on Thursday.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

There are around 30 of us, maybe more — all experiencing the soundscape of the quartz bowls; a tech-free hour designed for us to commune with memory, creativity and emotion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026

And he was born in Bondy, the Paris commune where Kylian Mbappe and William Saliba come from.

From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2026

Most of the 18 passengers were teachers from Hanoi on a charity trip to Lao Cai province, where the accident occurred on a long downhill stretch in Phinh Ho commune.

From Barron's ● Dec. 27, 2025

Others in the Oneida commune regarded him as moody, swinging from spirited to sullen within minutes.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Izabela Jurkowska-Hanus, the district prosecutor in Sanok, which covers Bukowsko Commune, told TVN24 that as of that time, there were no other circumstances that suggest a cause of death other than the one reported.

From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026

In St. Louis, strike committees, the so-called St. Louis Commune, briefly governed before troops crushed the uprising.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025

Later this year, Commune, a residential housing developer based in France, will open a development for single-parent households in the Paris suburbs with space for 14 families.

From Seattle Times ● May 15, 2023

“I wanted to write about Bloody Week,” he said in 2014 on an online Yale video interview show, referring to the bloody final days of the Commune.

From New York Times ● Jun. 11, 2022

“He’s right up there with our brightest and best. Commune or no, he’s been very well educated by someone.”

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman

“The Greeks believed that sleeping on a grave might give you dreams in which you communed with a spirit,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2025

Worshippers have already prayed and communed at the site on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, while the general public will be allowed in next month.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 21, 2023

In point of fact, I communed with it even more meaningfully this time, and not merely because of the stagecraft or the sentimental pull of a theater world striving to be whole again.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 3, 2021

I went to blues parties in dark basements, where black queer folk communed.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 2, 2020

He’d communed with the dead, heard them whispering hints about their future.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Haddock told Salon that he grew up celebrating Juneteenth as a sort of church day, communing with his family and community.

From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026

Post-release he lives in self-exile in Bangkok, communing online with clients back in Myanmar.

From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025

Although there are no figurative features at all, they appear to be communing among themselves and with you.

From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2025

Yet it also feels loving, a way of communing with the departed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2023

Of course Abel took to communing again with Amanda, and by April he was rather sure they were in touch with each other.

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

Related Words

• cooperative
• kibbutz
• municipality
• village