commutation

UK: /ˌkɒmjʊˈteɪʃən/ US: /ˌkɑmjəˈteɪʃən/ ,(kom′yə tā′shən)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

com•mu•ta•tion /ˌkɑmyəˈteɪʃən/   n. 

1. [countable] the changing of a prison sentence or other penalty to one less severe.
2. the act of commuting, as to and from work:
   [uncountable] I spend three hours a day in commutation.

See -mut-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

com•mu•ta•tion  (kom′yə tā′shən), n. 

1. the act of substituting one thing for another;
   substitution;
   exchange.
2. the changing of a prison sentence or other penalty to another less severe.
3. the act of commuting, as to and from a place of work.
4. the substitution of one kind of payment for another.
5. Electricity the act or process of commutating.
6. Linguistics Also called commuta′tion test′. the technique, esp. in phonological analysis, of substituting one linguistic item for another while keeping the surrounding elements constant, used as a means of determining the constituent units in a sequence and their contrasts with other units.

• Latin commūtātiōn- (stem of commutātiō) change. See commute, -ation
• late Middle English commutacioun 1400–50

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

commutation / ˌkɒmjʊˈteɪʃən/ noun

1. a substitution or exchange
2. the replacement of one method of payment by another
3. the reduction in severity of a penalty imposed by law
4. the process of commutating an electric current