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

Commute times decreased during the pandemic after rising for years before.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 29, 2024

"E-bikes are the most promising equitable climate solution in the transportation space that we have seen," says Melinda Hanson, the cofounder of the Equitable Commute Project.

From BBC • Feb. 8, 2024

His new job as a line mechanic at Commute Air will pay $30 an hour to start, plus higher wages for night shifts.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 1, 2023

Carpools were about 2 percent of Washington-area commutes in 2022, down from nearly 5 percent in 2019, according to the COG’s State of the Commute Survey.

From Washington Post • Jan. 14, 2023

Commute, kom-ūt′, v.t. to exchange: to exchange a punishment for one less severe.—n.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

Related Words

• shorten