commute
gb/kəmjˈut/ us/kəmjˈut/
B1
English
~ 8600
ingázik, ingázás, büntetést enyhít, ítéletet enyhébb büntetésre változtat, egyösszegű kifizetésre vált, tőkésít, kommutál, kommutatív
VERB
B1
1
ingázik
B2
Usage pattern:
to commute [to/from a place] (by [transport])
I commute to the city by train five days a week.
Heti öt nap vonattal ingázom a városba.
She used to commute three hours a day before she changed jobs.
Régebben napi három órát ingázott, mielőtt munkahelyet váltott.
Many employees now only commute to the office twice a week.
He commutes from the suburbs into downtown every morning.
They decided to move closer so they wouldn’t have to commute so far.
Learner examples
I commute to work by bus.
Busszal ingázom a munkahelyemre.
She commutes from a small town to the city.
Egy kisvárosból ingázik a városba.
We commute to school together every morning.
He does not want to commute for two hours every day.
My brother commutes by bike in the summer.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes say *“I commute my work”* or *“I commute my office.”* In English, *commute* in this sense is intransitive or uses a preposition: say *“I commute to work”* or *“I commute to my office.”* Another mistake is confusing *commute* with *communicate* because they look similar.
Meaning
Travel regularly to work or school
Collocations
commute to work
|commute into the city
|commute by train
|commute by car
|people who commute
|commute long distances
Synonyms
travel (More general; not limited to regular trips between home and work or school.)
|
drive (Emphasizes using a car; only fits when the commute is by car.)
Antonyms
telecommute (Means working from home using technology instead of physically traveling to a workplace.)
Themes
daily life
|transport
|work
|school
|daily_life
|transportation
Definition
To go from your home to your work or school and back, usually every day.
To travel regularly between one’s home and place of work or study, usually over some distance.
NOUN
B1
2
ingázás
B2
Usage pattern:
a [adjective] commute (from [place] to [place])
Her daily commute takes almost ninety minutes each way.
A napi ingázása egy irányban majdnem kilencven percig tart.
Since moving closer to the office, his commute is only ten minutes.
Amióta közelebb költözött az irodához, már csak tíz perc az ingázása.
I listen to podcasts during my commute to make the time go faster.
The new train line will shorten many people’s commute.
A long commute can be very stressful over time.
Learner examples
My commute is thirty minutes by bus.
Busszal harminc perc az ingázásom.
I read a book on my commute.
Könyvet olvasok ingázás közben.
His commute from the village to the city is very long.
The commute is easier when the weather is good.
She wants a job with a shorter commute.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use *commute* as a verb when they mean the noun, for example *“My commute to work every day”* is correct, but *“My commuting to work every day is long”* sounds unnatural. Use *“My commute is long”* or *“Commuting to work every day is tiring.”*
Meaning
Regular trip to work or school
Collocations
daily commute
|long commute
|morning commute
|evening commute
|commute time
|rush-hour commute
Synonyms
journey (General word for travel; does not itself suggest regular, repeated trips.)
|
ride (Informal and often used when traveling in a car, bus, or train; does not always imply regularity.)
Antonyms
remote work (If you work remotely, you usually do not have a daily commute.)
Themes
daily life
|transport
|work
|daily_life
|transportation
Definition
The trip you make again and again from your home to your work or school and back.
The regular journey that a person makes between home and their place of work or study.
VERB
C1
FORMAL
3
Usage pattern:
to commute [a punishment/sentence] (to [a less severe punishment])
The governor commuted her sentence from ten years to five.
A kormányzó tíz évről öt évre enyhítette a büntetését.
His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment after the appeal.
A fellebbezés után a halálbüntetését életfogytig tartó szabadságvesztésre enyhítették.
Under the new law, certain prison terms may be commuted for good behavior.
The president refused to commute the sentences of the convicted officials.
The judge has the power to commute fines in special circumstances.
Learner examples
The court commuted his sentence to five years.
A bíróság öt évre enyhítette a büntetését.
Her death sentence was commuted to life in prison.
Halálbüntetését életfogytig tartó szabadságvesztésre enyhítették.
The governor can commute some prison sentences.
They asked the president to commute the punishment.
His sentence was not commuted after the review.
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse this sense with the travel meaning and incorrectly say things like *“I commute my job”* when they only mean *travel*. The punishment sense is formal and almost always used with objects like *sentence*, *punishment*, or *penalty*, often in legal or political news.
Meaning
Reduce or change a punishment
Collocations
commute a sentence
|commute the death penalty
|commute a prison term
|commute a life sentence
|commute to life imprisonment
|commute to time served
Synonyms
reduce (Broad word for making something smaller or less severe; does not specifically refer to legal punishment.)
|
mitigate (Formal word for making something less severe, often used in legal or official contexts.)
Antonyms
increase (In this context, to make a punishment more severe or longer.)
|
uphold (Means to keep a sentence as it is, instead of changing or reducing it.)
Themes
law
|government
Definition
To make a legal punishment less hard, for example to change a death sentence to life in prison.
To change a punishment to a less severe one, especially a prison sentence or the death penalty.
VERB
C1
TECHNICAL
4
Usage pattern:
to commute [a pension/benefit] (for [a lump sum])
He chose to commute part of his pension for an immediate lump sum.
Úgy döntött, hogy nyugdíja egy részét azonnali egyösszegű kifizetésre váltja.
Under the scheme, members may commute up to 25% of their benefits tax-free.
A rendszer szerint a tagok juttatásaik legfeljebb 25%-át adómentesen egyösszegű kifizetésre válthatják.
The company allows retirees to commute their annuities at retirement.
You should get independent advice before commuting your pension rights.
Once you commute your benefits, you cannot reverse the decision.
Learner examples
He decided to commute his pension and take cash now.
Úgy döntött, hogy nyugdíját egyösszegű kifizetésre váltja, és most veszi fel a pénzt.
You can commute part of the benefit into a lump sum.
A juttatás egy részét egyösszegű kifizetésre válthatja.
Some people commute their retirement money instead of getting it every month.
The company lets workers commute their pension at age sixty.
She did not want to commute her annuity payments.
Common mistake:
This technical sense is often unknown to general learners, who may incorrectly assume it relates to travel. In financial documents, *commute* almost always refers to changing the form of a benefit or payment, not going to work.
Meaning
Convert regular payments to lump sum
Collocations
commute a pension
|commute benefits
|commute an annuity
|commute into a lump sum
|partial commutation
|commuted value
Synonyms
convert (General term for changing something into a different form; *commute* here is a specialized financial use.)
|
cash out (Informal phrase for taking money instead of future payments or benefits.)
Antonyms
annuitize (Specific financial term for turning a lump sum into a series of regular payments, the opposite direction of commuting benefits.)
Themes
business
|finance
Definition
To take money that you would get in many small payments and change it into one large payment.
In finance or insurance, to exchange a series of regular payments, such as a pension or annuity, for a single lump-sum payment.
VERB
C2
TECHNICAL
5
kommutál
C2
kommutatív
C2
Usage pattern:
[two operations/elements] commute
Addition and multiplication of real numbers commute.
A valós számok körében az összeadás és a szorzás kommutatív.
In this algebra, the generators do not commute with each other.
Ebben az algebrában a generátorok nem kommutálnak egymással.
These two matrices commute, so they can be simultaneously diagonalized.
The position and momentum operators fail to commute in quantum mechanics.
We restrict attention to observables that commute with the Hamiltonian.
Learner examples
In basic arithmetic, a and b commute in a + b.
Alapvető számtanban a és b kommutál az összeadásnál: a + b = b + a.
These two numbers commute under multiplication.
Ez a két szám a szorzásra nézve kommutál.
In this example, the operations do not commute.
When two matrices commute, AB equals BA.
Not all operators in physics commute with each other.
Common mistake:
Learners may not realize *commute* has this special mathematical meaning and may wrongly connect it to travel. In math texts, *commute* is almost always used intransitively with a plural subject, as in *“the operators commute.”*
Meaning
Have ab = ba in mathematics
Collocations
operations commute
|matrices that commute
|commute with each other
|do not commute
|pairwise commute
|commuting operators
Synonyms
be commutative (More explicit phrase; uses the related adjective *commutative* instead of the verb *commute*.)
Antonyms
fail to commute (In mathematics, this is how the opposite property is usually described rather than with a single antonym word.)
Themes
science
|mathematics
|education
Definition
In math, to give the same answer when the order of two things is changed, for example when a × b = b × a.
In mathematics, especially algebra, for two elements or operations to have the property that performing them in either order gives the same result.
Grammar
Dictionary form
commute
IPA
GB/kəmjˈut/
US/kəmjˈut/
Syllables & stress
com - mute (2 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (mute)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: commute
- 3rd Person Singular: commutes
- Present Participle: commuting
- Past: commuted
Word family
Forms
commutes
verb
commuting
verb
commuted
verb
Core family
commuter
noun
Advanced or less common
commutation
noun
commutable
adjective
Expressions
commute to work
1/kəmjˈut tə wˈɚk/
fixed phrase
Travel regularly from home to work
To go from your home to your job on a regular basis, usually every workday.
Examples
- I commute to work by train every day.
- She used to commute to work for over an hour each morning.
- Fewer people now commute to work five days a week.
daily commute
1/dˈeɪli kəmjˈut/
fixed phrase
Everyday trip to work or school
The trip you make every work or school day from your home to your job or class and back.
Examples
- Her daily commute is over two hours in total.
- I listen to music during my daily commute.
- Since the pandemic, his daily commute has disappeared because he works from home.
long commute
1/lˈɔŋ kəmjˈut/
fixed phrase
Time-consuming journey to work or school
A trip between home and work or school that takes a lot of time or is very far.
Examples
- She changed jobs because the long commute was exhausting.
- A long commute can affect your health and family life.
- He doesn’t mind the long commute because he works only three days a week.
reverse commute
1/ɹɪvˈɚs kəmjˈut/
fixed phrase
Commute opposite normal traffic flow
To travel from the city to a job in the suburbs or outside the city when most people are traveling into the city.
Examples
- He has a reverse commute from downtown to a factory in the suburbs.
- Because she does a reverse commute, she rarely gets stuck in traffic.
- The train is quiet on her reverse commute out of the city.