I. kə-ˈmyüt verb
( com·mut·ed ; com·mut·ing )
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin commutare to change, exchange, from com- + mutare to change — more at mutable
Date: 15th century
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
II. noun
Date: 1954
1. : an act or an instance of commuting
2. : the distance covered in commuting
a long commute