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Webster 1913 Edition

Volunteer

Volˊun-teer′

,
Noun.
[F.
volontaire
. See
Voluntary
,
Adj.
]
1.
One who enters into, or offers for, any service of his own free will.
2.
(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.
3.
(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.
Burrill.

Volˊun-teer′

,
Adj.
Of or pertaining to a volunteer or volunteers; consisting of volunteers; voluntary;
as,
volunteer
companies;
volunteer
advice.

Volˊun-teer′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Volunteered
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Volunteering
.]
To offer or bestow voluntarily, or without solicitation or compulsion;
as, to
volunteer
one’s services
.

Volˊun-teer′

,
Verb.
I.
To enter into, or offer for, any service of one's own free will, without solicitation or compulsion;
as, he
volunteered
in that undertaking
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Volunteer

VOLUNTEE'R

,
Noun.
A person who enters into military or other service of his own free will. In military affairs, volunteers enter into service voluntarily, but when in service they are subject to discipline and regulations like other soldiers. They sometimes serve gratuitously, but often receive a compensation.

VOLUNTEE'R

,
Adj.
Entering into service of free will; as volunteer companies.

VOLUNTEE'R

,
Verb.
T.
To offer or bestow voluntarily, or without solicitation or compulsion; as, to volunteer one's services.

VOLUNTEE'R

,
Verb.
I.
To enter into any service of one's free will, without solicitation or compulsion. He volunteered in that undertaking.
[These verbs are in respectable use.]

Definition 2024

volunteer

volunteer

English

Noun

volunteer ‎(plural volunteers)

  1. One who enters into, or offers for, any service of his/her own free will, especially when done without pay.
  2. (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.
  3. (law) A person who acts out of his own will without a legal obligation, such as a donor.
  4. (botany, agriculture) A plant that grows spontaneously, without being cultivated on purpose; see volunteer plant in Wikipedia.
  5. A native or resident of the American state of Tennessee.

Related terms

Translations

Verb

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

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

Translations

References

  • volunteer in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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