telecommute
verb
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Telecommute derives from the prefix tele-, a descendant of the Greek tele, meaning "far off," and the verb "commute," which arose from the Latin commutare, meaning "to change" or "to exchange." The practice of working at home and interfacing with the office via modem, telephone, or another telecommunications device has only recently become commonplace, but the word telecommute has been around since the mid-1970s. Its earliest documented use can be found in a January 1974 article in The Economist that predicted, "As there is no logical reason why the cost of telecommunication should vary with distance, quite a lot of people by the late 1980s will telecommute daily to their London offices while living on a Pacific island if they want to."
Examples of telecommute in a Sentence
Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Apr. 2025
Creating Caregiver-friendly Work Environments Employers can make the most significant difference in keeping working mothers in their companies by offering flexible, hybrid, or telecommuting options.
—Cherie Kloss, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
For nearly three decades, the U.S. government has been a leader in the telecommuting movement.
—Jack Kelly, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
To minimize outdoor pollution during poor air quality, officials urged people to carpool; telecommute; reduce trips or take public transportation; slow down when driving on dirt roads; and stabilize loose soils.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for telecommute
Cite this Entry
“Telecommute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/telecommute. Accessed 10 May. 2025.
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telecommute
verb
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