commute

[kuh-myoot]

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.

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

/ 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

noun

1. a journey made by commuting

commute

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.

Other Word Forms

• uncommuted adjective
• commutable adjective
• commutability noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of commute¹

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” ( com- ) + mūtāre “to change”

Word History and Origins

Origin of commute¹

C17: from Latin commutāre to replace, from com- mutually + mutāre to change

Example Sentences

He was the borough commander in Staten Island, commuting from his home in Brooklyn by ferry in the days before the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He served only two months before being released for health reasons and his sentence was later commuted by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Read more on Barron's

Although there have been some purpose-built towns - including Countesswells on the outskirts of Aberdeen - others have emerged through growth, particularly within commuting distances of cities.

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Schoolchildren in the town were told to commute in a group or use school buses, while nursery school preschool children refrained from playing outside.

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While the presence of National Guard troops in D.C. was initially controversial, residents had grown accustomed to seeing uniformed troops on their commute or at dinner.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• shorten