volunteer

American  

[vol-uhn-teer] / ˌvɒl ənˈtɪər /

noun

• volunteers
  plural

1. a person who voluntarily offers to perform a service or other undertaking.

2. a person who performs a service willingly and without pay.

3. Military. a person who enters the service voluntarily rather than through conscription or draft, especially for special or temporary service rather than as a member of the regular or permanent army.

4. Law.

   1. a person whose actions are not founded on any legal obligation so to act.

   2. a person who steps into a matter that does not concern them, such as a person who pays the debt of another where they are neither legally nor morally bound to do so and has no interest to protect in making the payment.

5. Agriculture. Also volunteer plant a plant that springs up spontaneously, without being seeded, planted, or cultivated by a person.

   We didn't plant any watermelons this year, but look at all the volunteers from last year's crop.

6. Volunteer. a native or inhabitant of Tennessee (used as a nickname).

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or being a person who voluntarily offers to do something.

   a volunteer fireman.

2. Agriculture. growing without being seeded, planted, or cultivated by a person; springing up spontaneously.

   volunteer tomatoes.

verb (used without object)

• volunteers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• volunteered,
  past participle,  past
• volunteering
  present participle

1. to offer oneself for some service or undertaking.

2. to enter service or enlist voluntarily.

verb (used with object)

• volunteers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• volunteered,
  past participle,  past
• volunteering
  present participle

1. to offer (oneself or one's services) for some undertaking or purpose.

2. to give, bestow, or perform voluntarily.

   to volunteer a song.

3. to say, tell, or communicate voluntarily.

   to volunteer an explanation.

4. to promise the services of (someone) without having asked if it is something they actually can or want to do.

   He volunteered me to sand and paint the bottom of the boat, and I don’t have the slightest interest in sanding, painting, or boating.

volunteer British  

/ ˌvɒlənˈtɪə /

noun

1. 1. a person who performs or offers to perform voluntary service

   2. ( as modifier )

      a volunteer system

      volunteer advice

2. a person who freely undertakes military service, esp temporary or special service

3. law

   1. a person who does some act or enters into a transaction without being under any legal obligation to do so and without being promised any remuneration for his services

   2. property law a person to whom property is transferred without his giving any valuable consideration in return, as a legatee under a will

4. 1. a plant that grows from seed that has not been deliberately sown

   2. ( as modifier )

      a volunteer plant

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verb

1. to offer (oneself or one's services) for an undertaking by choice and without request or obligation

2. (tr) to perform, give, or communicate voluntarily

   to volunteer help

   to volunteer a speech

3. (intr) to enlist voluntarily for military service

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prevolunteer
  noun
• unvolunteering
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• volunteers
  plural

Participles

• volunteering
  present
• volunteered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• volunteer
  simple
• volunteers
  simple
• have volunteered
  perfect
• has volunteered
  perfect
• am volunteering
  progressive
• are volunteering
  progressive
• is volunteering
  progressive
• have been volunteering
  perfect progressive
• has been volunteering
  perfect progressive

Past

• volunteered
  simple
• had volunteered
  perfect
• was volunteering
  progressive
• were volunteering
  progressive
• had been volunteering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will volunteer
  simple
• will have volunteered
  perfect
• will be volunteering
  progressive
• will have been volunteering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of volunteer

First recorded in 1590–1600; from French volontaire, from Latin voluntārius voluntary, with -eer for French -aire

Explanation

To volunteer means to freely offer up your time and service to help. So a volunteer might offer to water a neighbor's plants while he's on vacation or sign up to serve dinner at a local homeless shelter. When it came into usage circa 1600, the noun volunteer referred to a person who offered himself up for military service. It wasn't until a few decades later that the word was first used in a non-military sense. And a little over a hundred years after that, volunteer expanded from functioning as just a noun to also playing the role of verb. A volunteer is someone who volunteers: willingly performs a task or offers a service.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

volunteer volunteers volunteered volunteering

Re-Oak California needs donated acorns, volunteer planters and propagators, and money — especially if Crouch is to reach his dream goal of planting 20,000 trees a year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Conducting a trial that is randomized and placebo-controlled, meaning some participants will get the vaccine and others will get a placebo, helps eliminate the “healthy volunteer effect” commonly seen in observational studies.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

DeCrane said his group opposes the way it has been "marketed" to firefighters, including in Spokane where morning briefings fire chiefs to their crews included suggestions that they visit a volunteer tent for treatment.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Part of a generation that came of age after Hong Kong's 1997 return to Chinese rule, she attended the vigils from childhood and joined the Alliance in 2010 as a volunteer.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

She hands us each a volunteer permission slip.

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty

The analysis included 112,395 volunteers living across France.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

She found Georgia-based print shops to make pink “Senator My Boo” buttons and has been working with local Democratic activists and volunteers to distribute them at Ossoff’s rallies, including one he held Sunday in Athens.

From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026

He began opening small nurseries, staffed by volunteers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

You know the old saying: There are no victims, only volunteers.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

There was no need to call for volunteers to join the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

He volunteered at the city's foodbank and even gave fans gifts, including Rolex watches.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Thousands of other Americans volunteered to serve in the military, the intelligence community, law enforcement and homeland security, or to develop new capabilities to defend the country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

He soon volunteered to join the regular army and sailed for Canada in 1809, where he entered the 41st Regiment of Foot.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

After retiring in 2022, Cannom volunteered at the John Wesley Clinic in downtown Los Angeles, helping the homeless and underserved communities who might not otherwise receive cardiac care.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

“That’s your good trait. I’ve met his moms. I volunteered with them at a soup kitchen last Thanksgiving. They’re awesome people.”

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty

Raising your hand for middle management right now feels like volunteering to be laid off the next time your employer decides to become more “nimble.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

"There are opportunities for people to get involved in monitoring, in volunteering, just learning about the landscape in general," said Wheldon-Roberts.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

CPL shared the post on Instagram, where other patrons began volunteering their totals in the comments — a spontaneous little leaderboard for people whose competitive edge expresses itself through returning DVDs on time.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

She said expanding the network of young future hubs, which bring together a range of support covering mental health, employment, sports and volunteering, was a crucial step.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

Opportunities to make plans together became virtually nonexistent, and it was in desperation that Harry, Ron, and Hermione took to volunteering to feed the chickens just to escape the overcrowded house.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

Related Words

• come forward
• enlist
• sign up
• step forward
• suggest