vol·un·teer
ˌvä-lən-ˈtir 
1
: a person who voluntarily undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake a service: such as
a
: one who enters into military service voluntarily
b(1)
: one who renders a service or takes part in a transaction while having no legal concern or interest
(2)
: one who receives a conveyance or transfer of property without giving valuable consideration
2
: a volunteer plant
3
capitalized
[Volunteers of America]
: a member of a quasi-military religious and philanthropic organization founded in 1896 by Commander and Mrs. Ballington Booth
volunteered; volunteering; volunteers
: to offer oneself as a volunteer
volunteered to host the meeting
: to offer or bestow voluntarily
volunteer one's services
1
: being, consisting of, or engaged in by volunteers
a volunteer army
busy with volunteer activities
2
: growing spontaneously without direct human control or supervision especially from seeds lost from a previous crop
volunteer corn plants
Synonyms
Examples of volunteer in a Sentence
Noun
Volunteers are needed to help with the bake sale.
The school was built by volunteers.
Verb
Our son volunteered for military service.
He would not volunteer any information about her whereabouts.
Adjective
volunteer work at the hospital
Recent Examples on the Web
Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 25 Apr. 2024
And perhaps, like Cooper and Marsh, there will be more beauty queens representing the armed forces and service academies, and even more women volunteer and graduate.
—Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 25 Apr. 2024
More than 250 volunteers searched an additional 100,000 acres.
—CBS News, 25 Apr. 2024
The disaster response during hurricane Maria, supported by the IEEE Foundation, was the turning point for the local sections to promote this initiative that enabled volunteers to support the Red Cross’ response and recovery efforts.
—IEEE Spectrum, 23 Apr. 2024
Hawaii's Malama Hawaii program helps connect visitors to cultural and environmental volunteer opportunities.
—Christine Sarkis, USA TODAY, 23 Apr. 2024
More about Brad Plumer Our Coverage of the 2024 Election
Presidential Race
The Trump campaign and the Republican Party plan to dispatch over 100,000 volunteers and lawyers to monitor elections in battleground states — and work in concert with conservative activists.
—Brad Plumer, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2024
Every Thursday, a group of researchers, volunteers, and lifeguards collects samples along the coast and the results are posted on social media the next day.
—Alexandra Mendoza, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2024
Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom said its volunteers gathered more than 225,000 signatures and met the district requirements, as well.
—Shawna Mizelle, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2024
Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 26 Apr. 2024
Having an arrest record can create a myriad of barriers to everything from employment, housing, and education, to even volunteering at your child’s school.
—Essence, 26 Apr. 2024
Early in 2016, Pryor volunteered as an Arkansas Traveler, campaigning door-to-door in New Hampshire for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
—Frank E. Lockwood, arkansasonline.com, 20 Apr. 2024
McKenna volunteers as the social media representative of Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn.
—Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024
Some volunteered more information than required by law such as the value of their homes, car loan information that detailed the make and model of their vehicles and the names of which lobbyists wined and dined them.
—Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, 20 Apr. 2024
Two All-Star point guards on the floor was one too many, so Westbrook volunteered to move to the bench, a move that brought the season’s tagline: sacrifice.
—Janis Carr, Orange County Register, 19 Apr. 2024
In her 12 years volunteering on the library’s board of trustees — including seven years as its president — James couldn’t recall more than a few residents attending one of the monthly meetings.
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024
Over the years, she’s volunteered at Phoenix-area churches and sat on local boards and commissions including the city’s Community Development Advisory Committee.
—Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 15 Apr. 2024
Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2023
That’s noteworthy for a show based at a high-school auditorium in Litchfield and run by a staff that is almost entirely volunteer, including the show’s star and its producer.
—Susan Dunne, Hartford Courant, 18 Aug. 2022
Cycling Schools is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
—Shirley MacFarland, cleveland, 22 July 2022
Unfortunately, there’s no major title sponsor now, and that makes everything tougher: paying for permits, paying overtime for police officers, paying for non-volunteer staff.
—Lori Nickel, Journal Sentinel, 16 June 2022
The fire company is the only one in Carroll County that is completely volunteer run, with no career fire personnel.
—Dylan Slagle, Baltimore Sun, 23 June 2022
Glauner noted that Fire Station 1, at 4383 Center Road, was built in 1960 with additional bays installed in the 1970s, at a time when the department was all-volunteer.
—Brian Lisik, cleveland, 15 Feb. 2022
New York’s state guard is all volunteer, as is Ohio’s.
—NBC News, 3 Feb. 2022
In rural America, 35% of ambulance services are all-volunteer.
—Steve Hartman, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2022
Noun
The sheriff’s office said more than 100,000 acres were searched by the United Cajun Navy and volunteers in the first three weeks David Schultz was missing.
—Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 25 Apr. 2024
And perhaps, like Cooper and Marsh, there will be more beauty queens representing the armed forces and service academies, and even more women volunteer and graduate.
—Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 25 Apr. 2024
More than 250 volunteers searched an additional 100,000 acres.
—CBS News, 25 Apr. 2024
The disaster response during hurricane Maria, supported by the IEEE Foundation, was the turning point for the local sections to promote this initiative that enabled volunteers to support the Red Cross’ response and recovery efforts.
—IEEE Spectrum, 23 Apr. 2024
Hawaii's Malama Hawaii program helps connect visitors to cultural and environmental volunteer opportunities.
—Christine Sarkis, USA TODAY, 23 Apr. 2024
More about Brad Plumer Our Coverage of the 2024 Election
Presidential Race
The Trump campaign and the Republican Party plan to dispatch over 100,000 volunteers and lawyers to monitor elections in battleground states — and work in concert with conservative activists.
—Brad Plumer, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2024
Every Thursday, a group of researchers, volunteers, and lifeguards collects samples along the coast and the results are posted on social media the next day.
—Alexandra Mendoza, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2024
Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom said its volunteers gathered more than 225,000 signatures and met the district requirements, as well.
—Shawna Mizelle, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2024
Verb
The organization states people can also volunteer to clean up a park.
—Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 26 Apr. 2024
Having an arrest record can create a myriad of barriers to everything from employment, housing, and education, to even volunteering at your child’s school.
—Essence, 26 Apr. 2024
Early in 2016, Pryor volunteered as an Arkansas Traveler, campaigning door-to-door in New Hampshire for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
—Frank E. Lockwood, arkansasonline.com, 20 Apr. 2024
McKenna volunteers as the social media representative of Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn.
—Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024
Some volunteered more information than required by law such as the value of their homes, car loan information that detailed the make and model of their vehicles and the names of which lobbyists wined and dined them.
—Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, 20 Apr. 2024
Two All-Star point guards on the floor was one too many, so Westbrook volunteered to move to the bench, a move that brought the season’s tagline: sacrifice.
—Janis Carr, Orange County Register, 19 Apr. 2024
In her 12 years volunteering on the library’s board of trustees — including seven years as its president — James couldn’t recall more than a few residents attending one of the monthly meetings.
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024
Over the years, she’s volunteered at Phoenix-area churches and sat on local boards and commissions including the city’s Community Development Advisory Committee.
—Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 15 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Within the past couple of years, the group has become a part of Arrowhead Kingdom, an all-volunteer national network of Chiefs fan groups.
—Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2023
That’s noteworthy for a show based at a high-school auditorium in Litchfield and run by a staff that is almost entirely volunteer, including the show’s star and its producer.
—Susan Dunne, Hartford Courant, 18 Aug. 2022
Cycling Schools is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
—Shirley MacFarland, cleveland, 22 July 2022
Unfortunately, there’s no major title sponsor now, and that makes everything tougher: paying for permits, paying overtime for police officers, paying for non-volunteer staff.
—Lori Nickel, Journal Sentinel, 16 June 2022
The fire company is the only one in Carroll County that is completely volunteer run, with no career fire personnel.
—Dylan Slagle, Baltimore Sun, 23 June 2022
Glauner noted that Fire Station 1, at 4383 Center Road, was built in 1960 with additional bays installed in the 1970s, at a time when the department was all-volunteer.
—Brian Lisik, cleveland, 15 Feb. 2022
New York’s state guard is all volunteer, as is Ohio’s.
—NBC News, 3 Feb. 2022
In rural America, 35% of ambulance services are all-volunteer.
—Steve Hartman, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'volunteer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near volunteer
Cite this Entry
“Volunteer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/volunteer. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
volunteer
1 of 3 noun
vol·un·teer
ˌväl-ən-ˈti(ə)r
: a person who volunteers for a service
volunteer
2 of 3 adjective
: being, consisting of, or engaged in by volunteers
a volunteer fire department
volunteer activities
volunteer
3 of 3 verb1
: to offer voluntarily
volunteered my services
2
: to offer oneself as a volunteer
volunteered to do the job
Legal Definition
volunteer
noun
vol·un·teer
ˌvä-lən-ˈtir
1
: one that voluntarily undertakes something
especially
: one who without request, obligation, or an interest pays the debt of another and is denied reimbursement from subrogation
2
: one who receives property without giving valuable consideration
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