Definition of volunteer
1 : a person who voluntarily undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake a service: such asa : one who enters into military service voluntarilyb (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
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Examples of volunteer in a Sentence
Volunteers are needed to help with the bake sale.
The school was built by volunteers.
Recent Examples of volunteer from the Web
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The paper’s authors measured scenicness by asking volunteers to play an online game called Scenic-or-Not, which invites participants to look at photographs of neighbourhoods and rate their scenic value on a scale of one to ten.
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More than 400 volunteers from local companies joined forces to give Evanston kids space to be kids.
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Groups can reserve the tent at no cost, but city officials prefer that those groups be local nonprofit or volunteer groups.
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Kids 8 and up can work with Animal Care staff and volunteers to care for animals starting at 10 a.m. at the Daggerwing Nature Center, Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park, 11435 Park Access Road, Boca Raton.
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In the case of Griffith's Park Full of Art, that someone translates into more than 25 volunteers who assist event coordinator Kathie Price.
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Volunteer just one five hour shift a week in a fun retail environment.
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In the past five years, Jackson said, the company has donated millions of dollars of value in service to local charitable organizations through the Gannett Foundation, Courier-Journal Media assets and employee volunteer work.
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Raynoch Thompson was the leading tackler and an All-SEC linebacker for those 13-0 Volunteers.
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.
Origin and Etymology of volunteer
obsolete French voluntaire (now volontaire), from voluntaire, adjective, voluntary, from Old French, from Latin voluntarius
volunteer
Definition of volunteer
intransitive verb
: to offer oneself as a volunteer volunteered to host the meeting
transitive verb
: to offer or bestow voluntarily volunteer one's services
Examples of volunteer in a Sentence
volunteer work at the hospital
Recent Examples of volunteer from the Web
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People can also volunteer or even take a trip like Aduba’s.
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Fire Chief Patrick J. Kenny said Jacobson, who also trained as a mechanical engineer and worked as a project manager, volunteered for the department after receiving a letter appealing for community members to join the force.
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Germany's top car manufacturers volunteered a recall of 630,000 cars in April 2016 to fix diesel emissions management software but that failed to reassure regulators and policymakers that pollution levels are under control.
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Volunteering for the army has traditionally been a fast-track to citizenship for green card holders.
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In a sign of how damaging the administration considers Comey’s testimony, Sessions volunteered to appear before the panel.
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Eventually, Keenan started volunteering to help moderate one of the online forums where fans discuss the game.
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Holloway has been a math tutor, volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and coached youth teams.
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Leonard, the 6-foot-7, 230-pound Most Valuable Player candidate – perhaps the best player on the planet, as teammate Pau Gasol volunteered – was old-school dominant.
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.
First Known Use of volunteer
1709
volunteer
Definition of volunteer
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
Examples of volunteer in a Sentence
Our son volunteered for military service.
He would not volunteer any information about her whereabouts.
Recent Examples of volunteer from the Web
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Volunteer firefighters and EMTs took Marvin to a rendezvous point with the air ambulance.
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Volunteer jobs range from helping out in the gift shop and art gallery to giving tours and running special events or keeping an inventory of historical items that are donated.
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Volunteer background can include: attorneys, law students, and paralegals.
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.
First Known Use of volunteer
1649
VOLUNTEER Defined for English Language Learners
volunteer
playDefinition of volunteer for English Language Learners
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: a person who chooses to join the military
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: a person who does work without getting paid to do it
volunteer
Definition of volunteer for English Language Learners
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: of, relating to, or done by volunteers
volunteer
Definition of volunteer for English Language Learners
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: to offer to do something without being forced to or without getting paid to do it
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: to choose to join the military
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: to give (something) without being forced to or without getting paid for it
VOLUNTEER Defined for Kids
Definition of volunteer for Students
: a person who does something by free choice usually with no payment expected or given Volunteers painted the town hall.
Definition of volunteer for Students
: relating to or done by volunteers a volunteer fire department
Definition of volunteer for Students
volunteered
;volunteering
: to offer or give without being asked or forced and usually with no expectation of payment I volunteered my services. Tucker Mouse had volunteered to let them use the drain pipe … — George Selden, The Cricket in Times Square
Law Dictionary
volunteer
playLegal Definition of volunteer
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
Learn More about volunteer
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See words that rhyme with volunteer Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for volunteer Spanish Central: Translation of volunteer Nglish: Translation of volunteer for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of volunteer for Arabic speakers
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