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).

---

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

---

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

Brophy’s brother Ramon Fabregas was a part of volunteer efforts to search the state park for his sister last month.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

"Pets are like children. I insist on that," volunteer Nelson Vidales told AFP.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

A longtime cat rescuer, the former vegan chef with an arts background started out as a volunteer, then later became an employee.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

That leads some volunteer board members, reluctant to play the “bad guy” by raising dues, to rely on surprise special assessments instead, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

She served as president of a Catholic religious organization and worked as a volunteer for the Red Cross.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

He told ABC News affiliate KGTV, “We are out here with volunteers, with friends and family just doing our own search, and we are just going to keep on pushing until we find her.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

People carrying more weight tended to show greater changes in genes involved in fat metabolism, while leaner volunteers showed stronger effects on inflammation.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

Now, these volunteers have expanded their efforts to Blue Ash, which has one of the closest ICE offices.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

Meme Horner, 21, volunteers at the charity and said it's a way of giving back.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

One of the volunteers takes some information from Jay, gives her a box, tells us to make our way around.

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas

Jodie said she and her daughter had been able to find proper accommodation with support from the charity Porchlight, where she now volunteered.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

This summer, at age 19, he volunteered to be a part of a study of Takeda’s drug at Stanford’s sleep clinic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Over 180,000 people volunteered nationwide in 2023–2024, according to the government-backed Natural Hazards Research Australia.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

“Having this opportunity to have tickets for these kids and families, it’s going to be beyond their wildest dreams,” said Washington, who volunteered in the opening ceremony at the 1984 L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Or when Andre volunteered to watch his class’s hamsters over Christmas break without asking Dad.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

In July, Kalshi made overtures to New York, offering a share of its trade revenue in taxes and volunteering to allow users to exclude themselves from the app, the Journal earlier reported.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The couple have already started putting down roots in north east Wales, volunteering at the Wrexham Miners Project and supporting the children's hospice Hope House.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

She also began volunteering with TreePeople and attending classes at the Theodore Payne Foundation, including a three-part garden design course taught by director of horticulture Tim Becker.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

They talk about its European-style organizing model, its uneasy alliance with the Democratic Party, the primacy of canvassing and volunteering, and the art of compromise.

From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026

And now opportunity was the word the social worker was using when he informed the boy that he had arranged for him to spend the summer volunteering at Shady Glen Retirement Home.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Related Words

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