commute

American  

[kuh-myoot] / kəˈmyut /

verb (used with object)

commuted, commuting

1. to change (a prison sentence or other penalty) to a less severe one.

   The death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

2. to exchange for another or for something else; give and take reciprocally; interchange.

3. to change.

   to commute base metal into gold.

4. to change (one kind of payment) into or for another, as by substitution.

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verb (used without object)

commuted, commuting

1. to travel regularly over some distance, as from a suburb into a city and back.

   He commutes to work by train.

2. to make substitution.

3. to serve as a substitute.

4. to make a collective payment, especially of a reduced amount, as an equivalent for a number of payments.

5. Mathematics. to give the same result whether operating on the left or on the right.

noun

1. a trip made by commuting.

   It's a long commute from his home to his office.

2. an act or instance of commuting.

commute British  

/ kəˈmjuːt /

verb

1. (intr) to travel some distance regularly between one's home and one's place of work

2. (tr) to substitute; exchange

3. (tr) law to reduce (a sentence) to one less severe

4. to pay (an annuity) at one time, esp with a discount, instead of in instalments

5. (tr) to transform; change

   to commute base metal into gold

6. (intr) to act as or be a substitute

7. (intr) to make a substitution; change

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noun

1. a journey made by commuting

commute Scientific  

/ kə-myo̅o̅t′ /

1. To yield the same result regardless of order. For example, numbers commute under addition, which is a commutative operation. Generally, any two operators H and G commute if their commutator is zero, i.e. HG − GH = 0.

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Other Word Forms

• commutability
  noun
• commutable
  adjective
• uncommuted
  adjective

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."

Example Sentences

Carolyn Staats has a huge commute: 100 miles each way, four times a week, from her home in Los Banos, Calif., to her job as a physical therapist’s aide in the Bay Area.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

She supports expanding clean transit options, incentivizing employers to adopt flexible work policies to reduce commute emissions, deploying smart traffic technology and giving small businesses tiered time lines and tax credits to transition.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

Would you be exhausted by the 50-minute commute — five hours a week — especially in the evening when you’ve already worked a full day.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026

For more details on the impact of the industrial action on your commute, click on the explainer below.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

It’s nice being out early, before the school run, before the commute gets going; the streets are empty and clean, the day full of possibility.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

Related Words

• shorten