volunteer

1 of 3

noun

vol·un·teer ˌvä-lən-ˈtir

: a person who voluntarily undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake a service: such as

: 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

: a volunteer plant

capitalized [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

: being, consisting of, or engaged in by volunteers

a volunteer army

busy with volunteer activities

: growing spontaneously without direct human control or supervision especially from seeds lost from a previous crop

volunteer corn plants

Example Sentences

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

As a volunteer with the San Marcos Community Foundation for the past two years, Ahmed said she is driven to do more to help city residents.

San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Oct. 2022 Later, the army veteran with a scraggly salt-and-pepper beard and an affinity for the Boston Celtics will prepare for his wartime occupation as a volunteer in the civilian Territorial Defense Forces.

Howard Lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Aug. 2022 Vera and her family live in the basement of their home for two weeks and Vera's father works as a volunteer, delivering supplies such as groceries and pet food across the city.

Michela Moscufo, ABC News, 21 Aug. 2022 In 2021, Tomma Hargraves received the award for her work as a volunteer for the Lung Cancer Initiative of North Carolina.

Scientific American Custom Media, Scientific American, 15 Aug. 2022 Pomprowicz began her involvement with AHM as a community volunteer, eventually becoming a key member of the AHM Board of Directors, serving there from 2009-18.

Melanie Savage, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2022 Waiting for them at the end were friends and family members, plus one of the Henry Ford Hospital nurses who rushed to Kornieck's aid last year as a race day volunteer.

Jc Reindl, Detroit Free Press, 17 Oct. 2022 Jones randomly showed up to one of the group's meetings as a volunteer.

AZCentral.com, 16 Oct. 2022 Rose Staram got her start in politics as a volunteer, like so many others, but now she’s getting paid for her services.

Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Sep. 2022

Verb

Proceeds from the plant sale will benefit community activities that volunteer Master Gardeners participate in, ranging from school garden projects to sensory experience gardening throughout San Diego County.

San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2022 AmeriCorps has set up a 9/11 Day page that directs you to volunteer opportunities in your area by entering your zip code.

Ryan Bergeron, CNN, 7 Sep. 2022 The fire’s death toll would later rise to four when investigators separately found the remains of former fire lookout volunteer Kathy Shoopman.

Grant Stringer, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Aug. 2022 Broward prosecutors are no longer seeking the death penalty for Dayonte Resiles, the former fugitive who was convicted in March of first-degree murder in the brutal stabbing death of Davie homeowner and volunteer Jill Halliburton Su.

Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 29 Apr. 2022 With the supply chain disrupted, the presidential office brokered an arrangement among grocery chains, trucking companies and volunteer drivers to establish a single trucking service supplying all food stores.

New York Times, 25 Apr. 2022 There’s a chapel, and a small room that’s been transformed into a salon, where stylists volunteer to give free haircuts every few weeks.

Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2022 No current students may volunteer, the fliers say; that would feel like a conflict of interest, or at least undue pressure.

Detroit Free Press, 13 Oct. 2022 Residents without children should feel valued, too, and be encouraged to volunteer.

Leslie Postal, Orlando Sentinel, 12 Oct. 2022

Adjective

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 According to data from the U.S. Fire Administration – a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency – of the 816 registered fire agencies in Alabama, 79.1% are completely volunteer.

John Sharp, al, 30 Dec. 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'volunteer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.