commute

American  

[kuh-myoot] / kəˈmjut /

verb (used with object)

• commutes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• commuted,
  past participle,  past
• commuting
  present participle

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)

• commutes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• commuted,
  past participle,  past
• commuting
  present participle

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

• commutes
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• commutability
  noun
• commutable
  adjective
• uncommuted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• commutes
  plural

Participles

• commuting
  present
• commuted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• commute
  simple
• commutes
  simple
• have commuted
  perfect
• has commuted
  perfect
• am commuting
  progressive
• are commuting
  progressive
• is commuting
  progressive
• have been commuting
  perfect progressive
• has been commuting
  perfect progressive

Past

• commuted
  simple
• had commuted
  perfect
• was commuting
  progressive
• were commuting
  progressive
• had been commuting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will commute
  simple
• will have commuted
  perfect
• will be commuting
  progressive
• will have been commuting
  perfect progressive

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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”

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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

See Examples For:

commute commutes commuted commuting

Her legal team has called on the governor to commute her death sentence and allow her to live the rest of her life in prison.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

Some teleworking is allowed, but employees must be working in a location from which they are able to easily return to their assigned work location within normal commute time, the audit said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Slobogin suspects the governor will commute her sentence, especially if missteps by state officials are uncovered in the investigation he has ordered.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

"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

As for him, he’ll keep his job in publishing and just commute.

From "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes

Whitesides said creating high-paying local jobs is a major priority, as members of his district have some of the longest commutes in the country.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 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

Now, an agent pulls updates from the most relevant 100 public channels and turns them into a podcast that employees can listen to on their commutes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Years into trying different carrots and sticks, many companies are finding out that they need to offer more than free donuts to get employees to embrace long commutes in places like Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

Full-time jobs, commutes, and children or parents who need care often get in the way.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

She was sentenced to death, but that sentence was commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole after the death penalty was ruled unconstitutional in 1972.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

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

His sentence was commuted, and his restitution canceled within four months of sentencing.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

Santos was sentenced to just over seven years in prison, but Trump commuted his sentence last year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

He commuted his pension and provident fund to buy a Bharat bottle-sealing machine.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

The blazes never reached Davis itself, but sometimes they kept me from commuting home to Davis when I was working in my office in Oakland.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Diesel prices have reached a new record, likely making everything from grocery shopping to commuting to work more expensive.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 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

Earlier this year, BBC News followed the daily journey of one first-year student who said she was saving over £7,000 on accommodation by commuting 90 minutes into Manchester each day from home.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Reston is situated within easy commuting distance of downtown Washington.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

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