volunteer

1 of 3

noun

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

Volunteer [Volunteers of America] : a member of a quasi-military religious and philanthropic organization founded in 1896 by Commander and Mrs. Ballington Booth

volunteer

2 of 3

verb

volunteered; volunteering; volunteers

intransitive verb

: to offer oneself as a volunteer

volunteered to host the meeting

transitive verb

: to offer or bestow voluntarily

volunteer one's services

volunteer

3 of 3

adjective

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 of volunteer

Verb

• donate
• give
• contribute

Adjective

• voluntary
• willing

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

Noun

Higher fuel costs have also cut into the volunteer base that helps keep the rescue running. — Maveah Griffith, Charlotte Observer, 3 July 2026

Volunteers are often stationed at ‘Ask Me’ desks through the airport. — Alexandra Phelps july 3, Miami Herald, 3 July 2026

Verb

Menna was volunteering with a drama program at Saint Joseph Catholic School on May 6 when a storm moved in. — Joshua Cole, CBS News, 30 June 2026

Each uniform represents a different branch of service women volunteered for, including the Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy. — Yvonne Zusel, AJC.com, 30 June 2026

Adjective

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

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

Word History

Etymology

Noun

obsolete French voluntaire (now volontaire), from voluntaire, adjective, voluntary, from Old French, from Latin voluntarius

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1618, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1709, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Adjective

1649, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for volunteer

• auctioneer
• bandelier
• belvedere
• bombardier
• brigadier
• buccaneer
• cavalier
• chandelier
• chanticleer
• chevalier
• commandeer
• disappear

Kids 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 verb

1

: 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