volunteer 1 of 3

noun

Definition of volunteernext
as in enlistee

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

volunteer

2 of 3

verb

as in to donate
to make a present of trained tax consultants who volunteer their services at tax time

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

volunteer

3 of 3

adjective

as in voluntary
done, made, or given with one's own free will volunteer work at the hospital

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of volunteer
Noun
The volunteer panel acted as a neutral arbiter of sleazy attacks and other unsavory campaign tactics. — Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 1 Oct. 2026 Friday, October 2 Luis Sandoval didn’t volunteer for his new role. — Patric Chauvez, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026
Verb
According to her online obituary, the Tipp City High School and Lee University graduate also volunteered at her church, Christian Life Center, and was part of a program that teaches the Bible to public school students. — CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026 Matt Hepp, an engineer and a climber who volunteers with Ouray Mountain Rescue, created a reference map that notes mile markers and some of the most notorious sections. — Peter Hessler, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
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 See All Example Sentences for volunteer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for volunteer
  1. enlistee
  2. donate
  3. voluntary
  4. give
  5. willing
  6. contribute
Noun
  • Notably, the show stars several out gay actors, including Angus O’Brien as frat-boy enlistee and Max Parker as a closeted drill sergeant.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025
Definition of enlistee
Verb
  • That’s not a typo—$3 billion is indeed the sum that billionaire collector Ken Griffin donated to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
    — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • In graft versus host disease, donated stem cells recognize a recipient’s body as foreign and begin to attack their healthy tissues.
    — Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of donate
Adjective
  • The bill’s guardrails are voluntary, the chief critique of Senate Democrats, but are aimed at blocking those energy spikes.
    — David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 30 Sep. 2026
  • During that time, its activities will be funded by voluntary contributions from Adidas, H&M Group, Inditex and Bestseller, but the hope is that other brands join too, and the blueprint is eventually embedded in EPR policies across the EU.
    — Bella Webb, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of voluntary
Verb
  • Its winner, whether filmmaker or rights holder, will give the platform an exclusive license to show the film for a limited period.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Intense sound effects—such as the exceptionally long reverberation and echoes inside the Blue Demon tomb—gave a dramatic soundtrack to this intense, immersive experience.
    — Jacqueline Ortoleva, Scientific American, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of give
Adjective
  • Once risk boundaries become clearer, previously cautious institutional investors may prove more willing to deploy capital.
    — , CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Gifty, whimsical and fun, has dyslexia and is only willing to read in front of Mercy.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of willing
Verb
  • Their interaction could change electron motion and contribute to the large Hall response.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Information for this article was contributed by Kim Chandler and Jamie Stengle of The Associated Press; Emily Cochrane of The New York Times; and Mark Berman of The Washington Post.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of contribute

Browse Nearby Words

voluntary
volunteer
volunteered
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Volunteer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/volunteer. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of regimen

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All