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

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

For example, every November, Will Aid, external works with solicitors who volunteer their time and waive their fee for writing a basic will.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

She’s passionate about feral cats because there are too many in Los Angeles and hopes one day every neighborhood could have a cohort of volunteer cat rescuers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

At Tuesday's event, Trump meanwhile presented the highest US civilian honor to the family of volunteer firefighter Welles Crowther, who was killed while helping lead people out of the South Tower.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

And what chores you don’t want to volunteer for.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

In a message sent to volunteers, Sparkes said its participation in the rescue on Sunday had been requested by HM Coastguard.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

Sea lions are fed fish by volunteers Michelle Chung and Kelsie Kaufman, right, at Marine Mammal Care Center 2.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Footage was subsequently posted on social media showing volunteers of the Poole-based charity labelled as "traitors".

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

These volunteers are motivated by a shared sense of patriotism and see themselves as strengthening their country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

I follow her to the trails in the back, where volunteers walk the dogs.

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty

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

From BBC ● 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

He volunteered for military service during World War II and, with an affinity for math, served as a navigator on a B-17 bomber that saw heavy action.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Later on, Cohen volunteered to stage a presidential press conference and played “Reunited” by Peaches & Herb.

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026

The pundits weren’t meeting teams of high school “Barack Stars,” who volunteered after football practice or drama club.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Then he started out coaching by volunteering with the Access to Sports Project for deprived children in Finsbury Park.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 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

You can do this by taking up some freelance work or volunteering.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

Val Moreno looks like he’s enjoying every minute while volunteering to hold the down marker at Servite High home football games as part of the Friars’ chain crew.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

Here is the tissue I used to blot my tears the night he told me he would be volunteering for the military when he turned seventeen.

From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

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