volunteer

CEFRB1

/ˌvɒl(ə)nˈtɪə/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

01
noun
A person who offers to help without being paid.
02
verb
To offer to do something without being asked or paid.

Examples

The volunteer group provides war victims with food and medicine.
Others engage in volunteer work.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses: 5
Parts of speech: 2
Citations: 4

Also pronounced

/-ˈtɪɚ/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

A voluntary member of the organized militia of a country, as distinguished from a regular or member of the standing army.
One who enters into, or offers themselves for, any service of their own free will, especially when done without pay.
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.

More examples

In context

The volunteers at the nature reserve meet up ever other Sunday to help its upkeep.
to volunteer for doing the dishes
to volunteer an explanation

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The hospital needs a blank to help in the children's ward every weekend.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Citations

The word in print, with each source given in full.

The largest age group for volunteers was 35-44, the CNCS survey said, and volunteers were most likely to be parents with children under 18. The typical volunteer may live in Utah, which ranked first in the percentage of people who said they volunteered among all 50 states and Washington, DC.
2018 July 19, Thom Patterson, “Stats reveal how many Americans volunteer and where”, in CNN, archived from the original on 05 May 2025
That summer and fall the Army organized twenty-five regiments of volunteers, including two black regiments, which would have all-black captains and lieutenants. All officers were to be selected from regulars and volunteers who had distinguished themselves[…]
2007 April 30, Edward M. Coffman, The Regulars: The American Army, 1898-1941, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 16
Miranda: No good. Both routes are blocked. See these doors? The only way past is to get someone to open them from the other side. Shepard: It's not a fortress; there's got to be something. Here, maybe we can send someone in through this ventilation shaft. Jacob: Practically a suicide mission. I volunteer. Miranda: I appreciate the thought, Jacob, but you couldn't shut down the security systems in time. We need to send a tech expert.
2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Normandy SR-2
The typical volunteer may live in Utah, which ranked first in the percentage of people who said they volunteered among all 50 states and Washington, DC. […] The median amount of time per year spent volunteering was 52 hours.
2018 July 19, Thom Patterson, “Stats reveal how many Americans volunteer and where”, in CNN, archived from the original on 05 May 2025

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Origin

noun

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

Deep Dive

noun

More examples

Quick test

The hospital needs a blank— to help in the children's ward every weekend.

Nearby

Origin

noun

The hospital needs a blank to help in the children's ward every weekend.