To commute means to travel regularly between your home and work or school, usually making the same trip every day. Most adults commute to their jobs each morning and back home each evening. Some people have a short commute of just ten minutes, while others might spend an hour or more traveling each way by car, train, or bus.

The word usually describes routine travel rather than special trips. Your parents commute to work, but they don't commute to your grandparents' house for Thanksgiving. The journey itself is called a commute: “My mom's commute takes forty-five minutes.” A commuter is someone who makes these regular trips, and you'll often see commuter trains or commuter buses designed specifically for people traveling to and from work.

Commute has another meaning in law: to reduce a punishment to something less severe. When a governor commutes a prison sentence, the person might serve less time or receive a lighter punishment. This meaning connects to the idea of exchange or substitution, trading something heavy for something lighter.