telecommute

American  

[tel-i-kuh-myoot] / ˈtɛl ɪ kəˌmyut /

verb (used without object)

telecommuted, telecommuting

1. to work at home by using a computer that is electronically linked to the network of one's place of employment.

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Usage

What does telecommute mean? Telecommute means to work from home or another remote location, especially by keeping in contact with coworkers through various forms of digital communication. To commute means to make a regular trip. Most commonly, it refers to traveling to work and back each day. When people telecommute, they don’t go to a workplace but instead usually rely on the internet to communicate and send documents. Example: The company allows some of its employees to telecommute when they have personal appointments during the day.

Other Word Forms

• telecommuter noun

Etymology

Origin of telecommute

First recorded in 1970–75; tele- ¹ + commute

Example Sentences

Housing in the county is “affordable in comparison to Bay Area rates,” Barajas said, and people can live there and either commute or telecommute to Bay Area jobs.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2023

Many workers who could telecommute abandoned crowded cities and counties for suburban or rural areas when covid struck, causing demographers and businesses to wonder whether the movement signified a permanent shift.

From Washington Post • Mar. 30, 2023

Since I live alone and telecommute, I have an office set up in the living room.

From Slate • Feb. 4, 2023

The stark differences are the result of governments' varying approaches to pandemic restrictions, cities' structures of downtown business centers, and workers' ability to telecommute, Pishue said.

From Reuters • Dec. 7, 2021

Health officials have attributed that partly to the virus spreading easier in cramped apartments among laborers who can’t telecommute to work.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 27, 2020