commute
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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)
-
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.
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; change
to commute base metal into gold
-
(intr) to act as or be a substitute
-
(intr) to make a substitution; change
noun
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” ( com- ) + mūtāre “to change”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They didn’t know if they could get in and out on their morning commute, it wasn’t predictable enough for them, and they didn’t have time to wait in the long line.
The patrollers, responsible for safety on one of the nation’s steepest ski mountains, demanded more pay, arguing that Telluride’s high cost of living forced many to work multiple jobs and make long commutes.
Residents paid it in housing costs, in taxes and in the costs of commuting or other frictions of day-to-day life.
By 2021, Gray was burned out from the commute and was looking to hit the brakes.
In December, the California State Auditor said a supervisor wrongly let four Alcoholic Beverage Control managers commute in their state vehicles, at an estimated cost of $16,200.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
