commute

¹com·mute

verb \kə-ˈmyüt\

com·mut·edcom·mut·ing

Definition of COMMUTE

transitive verb

1

a : change, alter

b : to give in exchange for another : exchange

2

: to convert (as a payment) into another form

3

: to change (a penalty) to another less severe <commute a death sentence to life in prison>

4

: commutate

intransitive verb

1

: make up, compensate

2

: to pay in gross

3

: to travel back and forth regularly (as between a suburb and a city)

4

: to yield the same mathematical result regardless of order —used of two elements undergoing an operation or of two operations on elements

— com·mut·able \-ˈmyü-tə-bəl\ adjective

Examples of COMMUTE

1. He commutes to work every day by train.
2. She commutes 400 miles a week.
3. The judge commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment.

Origin of COMMUTE

Middle English, from Latin commutare to change, exchange, from com- + mutare to change — more at mutable

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to COMMUTE

Synonyms

change, exchange, shift, substitute, swap, switch, trade

Related Words

interchange; displace, replace, supersede; cede, hand over, surrender, yield; reciprocate

Rhymes with COMMUTE

acute, astute, Asyût, bear fruit, beetroot, Beirut, birthroot, bloodroot, breadfruit, butut, cahoot, Canute, catsuit, cheroot, choucroute, clubroot, compute, confute, crapshoot, cube root, deaf-mute, depute, dilute, dispute, dry suit, elute, en route, enroot, flight suit, folkmoot, freeboot, galoot, grapefruit, G suit, hardboot, hip boot, hirsute, imbrute, impute, jackboot, jackfruit, jumpsuit, kashruth, lawsuit, long suit, lounge suit, minute, nonsuit, offshoot, outshoot, Paiute, pantsuit, permute, playsuit, pollute, pursuit, recruit, refute, repute, salute, sans doute, seaboot, snowsuit, solute, square root, star fruit, star route, statute, strong suit, sunsuit, sweat suit, swimsuit, take root, taproot, to boot, tracksuit, trade route, transmute, tribute, uproot, volute, wet suit

²commute

noun

Definition of COMMUTE

1

: an act or an instance of commuting

2

: the distance covered in commuting <a long commute>

First Known Use of COMMUTE

1954

Other Transportation Terms

camber, corduroy, demurrage, milestone