volunteer
Forms
- Plural
- volunteers
- present (v1)
- volunteer
- past (v2)
- volunteered
- past participle (v3)
- volunteered
- present participle
- volunteering
- 3rd person singular
- volunteers
Definitions
1.One who enters into, or offers themselves for, any service of their own free will, especially when done without pay.
- The volunteers at the nature reserve meet up ever other Sunday to help its upkeep.
2.One who enters into military service voluntarily (but who, when in service, is subject to discipline and regulations like other soldiers), as opposed to a conscript.
3.A voluntary member of the organized militia of a country, as distinguished from a regular or member of the standing army.
4.A person who acts out of their own will without a legal obligation, such as a donor.
1.To do or offer to do something voluntarily.
2.To offer, usually unprompted.
3.To offer the services of (someone else) to do something.(informal)
- My sister volunteered me to do the dishes.
4.To enlist oneself as a volunteer.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #2507
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French voluntaire
From Latin voluntārius (“willing, voluntary”); or from voluntary + -eer.