commute

[ kuh-myoot ]

/ kəˈmyut /

verb (used with object), com·mut·ed, com·mut·ing.

to change (a prison sentence or other penalty) to a less severe one: The death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

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

to change: to commute base metal into gold.

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

verb (used without object), com·mut·ed, com·mut·ing.

to travel regularly over some distance, as from a suburb into a city and back: He commutes to work by train.

to make substitution.

to serve as a substitute.

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

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

noun

a trip made by commuting: It's a long commute from his home to his office.

an act or instance of commuting.

Nearby words

commutative, commutative group, commutative law, commutator, commutator group, commute, commuter, commuter airplane, commuter belt, commuter marriage, commuter tax

Origin of commute

1400–50; 1885–90 for def 5; late Middle English < Latin commūtāre to change, replace, exchange, equivalent to com- com- + mūtāre to change

Related formsun·com·mut·ed, adjective

Can be confusedcommute forgive pardon (see synonym study at pardon)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for commuted

After 15 years on Death Row, that was commuted to two life sentences.
Did Pablo Escobar Frame a Millionaire for Murdering Banana-Shipping Money Launderers?|Jacqui Goddard|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was standing in front of the firing squad when his sentence was commuted to exile in Siberia.
Russian History Is on Our Side: Putin Will Surely Screw Himself|P. J. O’Rourke|May 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In March, Youssef condemned 529 people to death, although most of those sentences subsequently were commuted to life in prison.
The Hanging Judge of Minya, Egypt, Sentences Hundreds to Death|Bel Trew|April 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A federal appeals court agreed, and commuted his sentence to life in prison.
Conservatives Shoot Down Obama Nominee with ‘Willie Horton’ Tactics|Jamelle Bouie|March 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST

One whole shade of opinion, opposed to the death penalty, argued that his sentence should be commuted to life.
India’s Twisted Conscience on Terrorism|Dilip D’Souza|February 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Since the Reformation 'twas commuted into preaching on the Holy-dayes.
Brief Lives (Vol. 1 of 2)|John Aubrey
This sentence in most cases was commuted to penal servitude for life, or reduced to terms of imprisonment.
South Africa and the Transvaal War, vol. 7|Louis Creswicke
But all punishments might readily be commuted into a fine to be spent in gin for judge and jury.
The Chronicles of Newgate, v. 2/2|Arthur Griffiths
I am glad to tell you that the sentence of R——, whose cell was next to mine, has been commuted to life imprisonment.
Prisons and Prayer: Or a Labor of Love|Elizabeth Ryder Wheaton
This time she was found guilty and cast for death, but the sentence was commuted to transportation.
The Chronicles of Newgate, vol. 1/2|Arthur Griffiths

British Dictionary definitions for commuted

commute

/ (kəˈmjuːt) /

verb

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

(tr) to substitute; exchange

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

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

(tr) to transform; changeto commute base metal into gold

(intr) to act as or be a substitute

(intr) to make a substitution; change

noun

a journey made by commuting

Derived Formscommutable, adjectivecommutability or commutableness, noun

Word Origin for commute

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for commuted

commute

mid-15c., "to change, transform," from Latin commutare "to often change, to change altogether," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + mutare "to change" (see mutable). Sense of "make less severe" is 1630s. Sense of "go back and forth to work" is 1889, from commutation ticket "season pass" (on a railroad, streetcar line, etc.), from commute in its sense of "to change one kind of payment into another" (1795), especially "to combine a number of payments into a single one." Related: Commuted; commuting.

Science definitions for commuted

commute

[ kə-myōōt′ ]

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.

commute

verb (used with object), com·mut·ed, com·mut·ing.

verb (used without object), com·mut·ed, com·mut·ing.

noun

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Origin of commute

Examples from the Web for commuted

British Dictionary definitions for commuted

commute

verb

noun

Word Origin for commute

Word Origin and History for commuted

commute

Science definitions for commuted

commute