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.

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transliterate

to remove or destroy all traces of.

to change (letters, words, etc.), into corresponding characters of another alphabet or language.

to explain in terms that can be more easily understood.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM commute

un·com·mut·ed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH commute

commute forgive pardon (see synonym study at pardon)

Words nearby commute

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences 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 forms of commute

commutable, 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

Scientific 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

OTHER WORDS FROM commute

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH commute

Words nearby commute

Words related to commuted

Example sentences from the Web for commuted

British Dictionary definitions for commuted

verb

noun

Derived forms of commute

Word Origin for commute

Scientific definitions for commuted