commute
Americanverb (used with object)
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commutes,
present (3rd person singular)
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commuted,
past participle, past
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commuting
present participle
-
to change (a prison sentence or other penalty) to a less severe one.
The death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.
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to exchange for another or for something else; give and take reciprocally; interchange.
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to change.
to commute base metal into gold.
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to change (one kind of payment) into or for another, as by substitution.
verb (used without object)
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commutes,
present (3rd person singular)
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commuted,
past participle, past
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commuting
present participle
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to travel regularly over some distance, as from a suburb into a city and back.
He commutes to work by train.
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to make substitution.
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to serve as a substitute.
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to make a collective payment, especially of a reduced amount, as an equivalent for a number of payments.
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Mathematics. to give the same result whether operating on the left or on the right.
noun
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commutes
plural
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a trip made by commuting.
It's a long commute from his home to his office.
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an act or instance of commuting.
verb
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(intr) to travel some distance regularly between one's home and one's place of work
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(tr) to substitute; exchange
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(tr) law to reduce (a sentence) to one less severe
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to pay (an annuity) at one time, esp with a discount, instead of in instalments
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(tr) to transform; change
to commute base metal into gold
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(intr) to act as or be a substitute
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(intr) to make a substitution; change
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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commutesimple
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commutessimple
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have commutedperfect
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has commutedperfect
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am commutingprogressive
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are commutingprogressive
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is commutingprogressive
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have been commutingperfect progressive
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has been commutingperfect progressive
Past
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commutedsimple
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had commutedperfect
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was commutingprogressive
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were commutingprogressive
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had been commutingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of commute
First recorded in 1400–50, and in 1885–90 commute for def. 5; late Middle English, from Latin commūtāre “to change, replace, exchange,” equivalent to com- “with, together” ( see com-) + mūtāre “to change”
Explanation
A commute is a journey you take from home to work and back again. You might enjoy your subway commute because it gives you lots of time to read. Your commute is your trip to work, and the verb commute describes making that trip — like your preference to commute by public bus. Another meaning of commute describes changing the length of a judicial sentence, like when a judge commutes someone's time in jail. You can see this meaning in the word's origin — the Latin word commutare, meaning "to change altogether."
Vocabulary lists containing commute
Born a Crime
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Just Mercy
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From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
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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:
"I think, at the very least, the governor should commute Ms. Pike's death sentence to a life sentence," Ferrell said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
The goal, he said, is for Ionna to become a “network of choice” that consumers can rely on for their daily commute, as well as for road trips.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
As transit networks grow, cities around the world are actively cracking down on bad behaviour to ensure a peaceful commute for all passengers.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
He will remain based in Miami and commute to Menlo Park and San Francisco.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Excited, he jumped in his car and drove around Montgomery to inspect other buses during the morning commute.
From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose
It’s how she commutes between Montclair and downtown for her business and to visit family as she saves for a car while gas prices rise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
“We’re proud to invest directly in this connectivity to make everyday commutes easier and more affordable,” the company said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
Street signs boast of "generations of Egyptian-Chinese friendship flowing like the Nile River", while residents have been warned to plan for substantial traffic delays on their commutes.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
He still commutes back to Bristol twice a week to play football and added he "catches the traffic in Chepstow but other than football I look to stay in the Forest as much as possible".
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
There might even be time to enjoy it all, now that they had ten-minute commutes by bus as opposed to ninety-minute treks by train and on foot.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
Pike's legal team had filed the clemency petition earlier this month, requesting that her death sentence be commuted to life in prison.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Once, border migration patterns resembled a loop: thousands of laborers, mostly men, commuted here once or twice a year from Mexico to jobs in the fields, then on to other jobs once harvests were over.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Pierce-Quinonez grew up in Berkeley, Calif., and Morton grew up in rural New Jersey, where his dad commuted two hours each way to his job in New York.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
He later served time in prison, pleading guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and other charges, but President Donald Trump commuted his sentence in October 2025.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026
The others came from Manhattan, Hoboken, the Bronx, and one commuted from Bayonne, New Jersey.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Julie Whelan, CBRE’s head of U.S. occupier research, said more commuting is likely in the coming months.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
I’d taken a temporary job building out a marketing team, commuting to L.A. every Sunday through Thursday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
From November last year until now, I spent $450 to power my EV for commuting, running errands and local trips.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
"Households are more commonly exchanging commuting time for more affordable housing, increased space and access to rural amenities," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
“You and me commuting together. We should get matching Chumley travel mugs. They sell them at the gift shop.”
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
Definitions 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.
