commute

1 of 2

verb

com·​mute kə-ˈmyüt 

commuted; commuting

transitive verb

1

a

: change, alter

b

: to give in exchange for another : exchange

commuting foreign currency to domestic

2

: to convert (something, such as a payment) into another form

The periodic payments may be commuted into a lump sum.

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

commuted for her sins

2

: to pay in gross (see gross entry 3 sense 1)

3

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

He commutes to work every day by car.

4

: to yield the same mathematical result regardless of order

—used of two elements undergoing an operation or of two operations on elements

commutable

kə-ˈmyü-tə-bəl 

adjective

commute

2 of 2

noun

1

: an act or an instance of commuting

2

: the distance covered in commuting

a long commute

Did you know?

When you commute between a suburb and a city, you're "exchanging" one location for another. When a chief executive substitutes a life sentence for the death sentence handed down by a court, he or she is commuting the original sentence. Most such commutations are the result of the prisoner's good behavior. A commutator is a device in many electric motors that regularly changes alternating current to direct current.

Synonyms

Verb

• exchange
• trade
• swap
• change
• substitute

Examples of commute in a Sentence

Verb

He commutes to work every day by train.

She commutes 400 miles a week.

The judge commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

But, during the final moments of Joe Biden’s Presidential Administration, Biden commuted Peltier’s sentence to home confinement. —Nick Estes, New Yorker, 26 June 2025

Those who were sentenced to death for these offenses before July 1 but have not yet been executed will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, the report added. —CNN Money, 25 June 2025

Noun

Here, however, the open road is less a classic onscreen symbol of freedom than a well-trodden commute along lonely highways dividing clusters of high rises. —Leslie Katz, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025

In the sale, there is something for every upcoming occasion, whether that be packing for vacation or outfitting for a sweaty commute, en route to the office. —Kristina Rutkowski, Vogue, 27 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

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

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1954, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for commute

• acute
• aleut
• astute
• beetroot
• breadfruit
• cheroot
• compute
• confute
• dilute
• dispute
• elute
• grapefruit

Kids Definition

commute

1 of 2 verb

com·​mute kə-ˈmyüt 

commuted; commuting

1

: exchange entry 2

especially : to change a penalty to another one that is less severe

commute a death sentence to life imprisonment

2

: to travel back and forth regularly

commutable

-ˈmyüt-ə-bəl 

adjective

commuter noun

commute

2 of 2 noun

1

: an act or instance of commuting

the morning commute to work

2

: the distance covered in commuting

a long commute

Legal Definition

commute

transitive verb

com·​mute kə-ˈmyüt 

commuted; commuting

1

: to convert (as a payment) into another form

2

: to change (a penalty) to one less severe especially out of clemency compare pardon

commutation

ˌkä-myə-ˈtā-shən 

noun

commutative

kə-ˈmyü-tə-tiv, ˈkä-myə-ˌtā-tiv 

adjective