volunteer

vol·un·teer

Use volunteer in a sentence

noun

The definition of a volunteer is a person who donates his time or efforts for a cause or organization without being paid.
A person who works in a soup kitchen for free is an example of a volunteer.

verb

To volunteer is defined as to give without being asked and without being paid.
When you go work in a soup kitchen for free, this is an example of a situation where you volunteer.

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MLA Style

"volunteer." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/VOLUNTEER>.

APA Style

volunteer. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/VOLUNTEER

volunteer

a person who chooses freely to do or offer to do something
a person who chooses freely to enter naval or military service, without being compelled to do so by law
Bot. a volunteer plant
Law
1. a person who chooses freely to enter into a transaction with no promise of compensation
2. a person to whom property is transferred without valuable consideration

Origin of volunteer

earlier voluntier from obsolete French voluntaire from Classical Latin (miles)voluntarius, voluntary (soldier)

composed of volunteers, as an army
serving as a volunteer, usually without compensation
of a volunteer or volunteers
Bot. growing from seed that has fallen naturally to the ground, not planted by a person

to freely choose to offer or give without being asked or obliged

to freely choose to enter or offer to enter into any service; enlist

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Link to this page

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MLA Style

"volunteer." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/VOLUNTEER>.

APA Style

volunteer. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/VOLUNTEER

volunteer

noun

A person who performs or offers to perform a service voluntarily: an information booth staffed by volunteers; hospital volunteers.
A person who chooses to enter a branch of the military without being drafted or forced to do so by law.
Law A person who works without pay or assumes an obligation to which he or she is not a party or otherwise interested.
Botany A cultivated plant growing from self-sown or accidentally dropped seed.

adjective

Being, consisting of, or done by volunteers: volunteer firefighters; volunteer tutoring.
Botany Growing from self-sown or accidentally dropped seed. Used of a cultivated plant or crop.

verb

vol·un·teered, vol·un·teer·ing, vol·un·teers

verb

transitive

To give or offer to give voluntarily: volunteered their services; volunteer to give blood.
Informal To compel (someone) to do something: We were volunteered to do the dishes.

verb

intransitive

To perform or offer to perform a service of one's own free will.
To choose to enter military service of one's own free will.
To do charitable or helpful work without pay: Many retirees volunteer in community service and day care centers.

Origin of volunteer

Obsolete French voluntaire from Old French voluntary from Latin voluntārius ; see voluntary .

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"volunteer." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/VOLUNTEER>.

APA Style

volunteer. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/VOLUNTEER

Noun

(plural volunteers)

One who enters into, or offers for, any service of his/her own free will, especially when done without pay.
(military) One who enters into military service voluntarily, but who, when in service, is subject to discipline and regulations like other soldiers; -- opposed to conscript; specifically, a voluntary member of the organized militia of a country as distinguished from the standing army.
(law) A person who acts out of his own will without a legal obligation, such as a donor.
(botany, agriculture) A plant that grows spontaneously, without being cultivated on purpose; see volunteer plant in Wikipedia.
A native or resident of the American state of Tennessee.

Verb

(third-person singular simple present volunteers, present participle volunteering, simple past and past participle volunteered)

(intransitive) To enlist oneself as a volunteer.
(intransitive) To do or offer to do something voluntarily.
to volunteer for doing the dishes
To offer.
to volunteer an explanation
(intransitive, botany) To grow without human sowing or intentional cultivation.
(informal) To offer the services of (someone else) to do something.
My sister volunteered me to do the dishes.

Origin

From Middle French voluntaire, from Latin voluntarius (“willing, voluntary"); or from voluntary +"Ž -eer.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.