Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A person who performs or offers to perform a service voluntarily.
  • noun A person who chooses to enter a branch of the military without being drafted or forced to do so by law.
  • noun Law A person who works without pay or assumes an obligation to which he or she is not a party or otherwise interested.
  • noun Botany A cultivated plant growing from self-sown or accidentally dropped seed.
  • adjective Being, consisting of, or done by volunteers.
  • adjective Botany Growing from self-sown or accidentally dropped seed. Used of a cultivated plant or crop.
  • intransitive verb To give or offer to give voluntarily.
  • intransitive verb Informal To compel (someone) to do something.
  • intransitive verb To perform or offer to perform a service of one's own free will.
  • intransitive verb To choose to enter military service of one's own free will.
  • intransitive verb To do charitable or helpful work without pay.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A person who enters into any service of his own free will.
  • noun A person who enters military service of his own free will, and not by constraint or compulsion; one who offers to serve, and generally receives some consideration or privileges on that account; in the United States, especially during the civil war, a soldier of a body other than the regular army, but practically governed by the same laws when in service.
  • noun In law, one who claims the benefit of a contract or conveyance although no consideration proceeded from him nor from any one in whose place he stands.
  • noun A tree which grows spontaneously: as, that pear-tree in my garden is a volunteer.
  • Entering into military service by free will and choice: as, a volunteer soldier.
  • Composed of volunteers: as, a volunteer corps.
  • To offer, contribute, or bestow voluntarily, or without constraint or compulsion.
  • To enter into any service of one's free will, without constraint or compulsion: as, to volunteer for a campaign
  • noun In horticulture, a plant that comes up of itself from naturally scattered seed, in distinction from one that comes from sowing by the horticulturist.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To enter into, or offer for, any service of one's own free will, without solicitation or compulsion.
  • noun One who enters into, or offers for, any service of his own free will.
  • noun (Mil.) One who enters into 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.
  • noun (Law) A grantee in a voluntary conveyance; one to whom a conveyance is made without valuable consideration; a party, other than a wife or child of the grantor, to whom, or for whose benefit, a voluntary conveyance is made.
  • adjective Of or pertaining to a volunteer or volunteers; consisting of volunteers; voluntary
  • transitive verb To offer or bestow voluntarily, or without solicitation or compulsion.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun One who enters into, or offers for, any service of his/her own free will, especially when done without pay.
  • noun 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.
  • noun law A person who acts out of his own will without a legal obligation, such as a donor.
  • noun botany A plant that grows in disturbed soil.
  • noun A native or resident of the American state of Tennessee.
  • verb intransitive To enlist oneself as a volunteer.
  • verb transitive To do or offer to do something voluntarily.
  • verb intransitive, botany To grow without human sowing or intentional cultivation.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a person who performs voluntary work
  • adjective without payment
  • verb tell voluntarily
  • noun (military) a person who freely enlists for service
  • verb agree freely
  • verb do volunteer work
  • noun a native or resident of Tennessee

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Obsolete French voluntaire, from Old French, voluntary, from Latin voluntārius; see voluntary.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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

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Examples

  • Part of the difficulties seem to stem from the fact that as an army sponsored organization, there are a lot of rules that an FRG needs to adhere to, and frankly, there is no way to hold volunteers accountable, and most will balk at the rediculous restrictions. ok, so I have to fill out how many dozen forms to _volunteer_ my time, including several on a continuing basis every time I do some volunteer work?

    Military Spouses for Creative Solutions - SpouseBUZZ 2008

  • We advise against using the term "volunteer," and some people like the term "pro bono" especially in the legal field, where it is common.

    Kristin Maschka: Resume Advice After a Career Break: An Interview With iRelaunch Kristin Maschka 2011

  • At the most basic level this means encouraging their education by listening to them read every day. mickinlondon, I believe the term 'volunteer' signifies that they are not getting paid to work.

    Evening Standard - Home 2011

  • Gary, London, England, 06/06/2011 14:58 mickinlondon, I believe the term 'volunteer' signifies that they are not getting paid to work.

    Evening Standard - Home 2011

  • Gary, London, England, 06/06/2011 14:58 mickinlondon, I believe the term 'volunteer' signifies that they are not getting paid to work.

    Evening Standard - Home 2011

  • Alec Allison, London, 06/06/2011 15:18 mickinlondon, I believe the term 'volunteer' signifies that they are not getting paid to work.

    Evening Standard - Home 2011

  • At the most basic level this means encouraging their education by listening to them read every day. mickinlondon, I believe the term 'volunteer' signifies that they are not getting paid to work.

    Evening Standard - Home 2011

  • The term "volunteer" is used loosely; following in the grand tradition of mildly pervy prestidigitators, Wuthergloom/Woolfe has a tendency to select the most attractive, young women in attendance to participate.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed J. Kelly Nestruck 2011

  • Alec Allison, London, 06/06/2011 15:18 mickinlondon, I believe the term 'volunteer' signifies that they are not getting paid to work.

    Evening Standard - Home 2011

  • I grew up with the word "volunteer" as a very powerful word in my family.

    Avital Binshtock: More Than a Desperate Housewife, Eva Longoria Talks Activism Avital Binshtock 2011

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