1. relating to or involving substitution or exchange
Usage: formal
2. having the property that the order of elements does not affect the result of an operation
Usage: mathematics

Examples

• Addition is a commutative operation because 3 + 5 equals 5 + 3.
• Multiplication of real numbers is commutative.
• The commutative property applies to both addition and multiplication.
• Matrix multiplication is not always commutative.
• Students learn about commutative laws in elementary algebra.
• The commutative nature of addition makes mental math easier.