Commutate

verb

verb ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To reverse the direction of (a current). transitive

    "Continuously rated machines shall be required to commutate successfully momentary loads of 150% of the Amperes corresponding to the continuous rating keeping the rheostat set for rated load excitation."

  2. 2
    reverse the direction of (an alternating electric current) each half cycle so as to produce a unidirectional current wordnet
  3. 3
    To convert from being or using an alternating current into being or using a direct current. transitive

    "In line commutation, advantage of the a.c. supply going through zero value at every half-cycle is taken to commutate the thyristor."

  4. 4
    To commute; to be invariant under a reversal of the positions of operands. intransitive

    "The match of two finite line segments in 2 dimensions requires 2 translations, 1 rotation, 1 scale transformation; the order is here important, and these operators cannot commutate."

  5. 5
    To commute; to change one kind of payment into another, especially to convert from several installments to a single lumpsum payment. transitive

    "Ah, commutation. I knew there was something else. This is where you can commutate your weekly payments into a lump sum and be rid of the “system”."

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  1. 6
    To remove or reduce the legal obligations or restrictions on transitive

    "Specifically, the seminary was challenged by industrial millers who petitioned to build steam-powered mills and by large Montreal property holders who demanded that the crown commutate their lands."

  2. 7
    To transform, especially into a reversed or opposite form. transitive

    "Writers change the URIs as they compose because writers commutate and manipulate language to create a variety of rhetorical experiences that can be read at once, as overlapping, or as separate."

Example

More examples

"Continuously rated machines shall be required to commutate successfully momentary loads of 150% of the Amperes corresponding to the continuous rating keeping the rheostat set for rated load excitation."

Etymology

Back-formation from commutation (in the late 19th century), as is commutator (noun) too.

Related phrases

alternating currentdirect current

More for "commutate"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.