commuted

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   Traveled regularly between home and work or school.

   Grammar: No object; often followed by 'to' or 'from'.

   Patterns

   • commute to something
   • commute from something
   • commute between places

   She commuted to London every day for ten years.

   He commuted from his home in the suburbs to the city center.

   They commuted together to save money on gas.

2. 2verbtransitivelegal

   Reduced a punishment to a less severe one.

   Grammar: Takes an object: commute a sentence.

   Patterns

   • commute a sentence
   • commute something to something

   The governor commuted his sentence from death to life in prison.

   The court commuted the fine to community service.

3. 3verbtransitivetechnical

   Changed one thing into another, especially in finance or mathematics.

   Grammar: Takes an object; often used in technical contexts.

   Patterns

   • commute something into something

   The company commuted the bonds into shares.

   In math, you can commute the terms without changing the result.

Word forms

Common combinations

commute to work

I commute to work by train every morning.

commute a sentence

The judge commuted the sentence after new evidence appeared.

long commute

A long commute can be very tiring.

commute between

She commutes between New York and Boston.

Synonyms and how they differ

travel

More general; 'commute' specifically means regular travel between home and work.

reduce

Used for punishments, but 'commute' is the legal term for officially lessening a sentence.

Word family

commuter noun

A person who commutes.

commuting noun

The activity of traveling regularly to work.

Commonly confused: commuted or commuted?

Practice

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