volunteer

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /ˌvɑlənˈtɪɹ/ UK /ˌvɒl(ə)nˈtɪə/ See IPA manual

Freq #4918

Meanings

1

noun
A person who offers to do something, often without being paid.

The volunteers meet every Sunday to help at the nature reserve.
2

verb
To offer to do something willingly.

I volunteered to drive our guests home.
3

verb
To offer information without being asked.

She volunteered an explanation before anyone could ask.
4

verb
To offer someone else's services for a task.

My sister volunteered me to do the dishes.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to offer to do something... offer

Word family

Forms volunteeredvolunteeringvolunteers

Derived forms volunteeringvolunteerismvolunteerlyvolunteershipvoluntell

Related forms voluntarism voluntarist

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

volunteer work
unpaid activity done willingly to help other people or a community

Noun + noun

Etymology

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

*welh₁- Proto-Indo-European voluntārius Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# volunteer

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˌvɑlənˈtɪɹ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌvɒl(ə)nˈtɪə/
**Frequency rank:** 4918

## Meanings
1. A person who offers to do something, often without being paid.
2. To offer to do something willingly.
3. To offer information without being asked.
4. To offer someone else's services for a task.

## Examples
- The volunteers meet every Sunday to help at the nature reserve.
- I volunteered to drive our guests home.
- She volunteered an explanation before anyone could ask.
- My sister volunteered me to do the dishes.

## Derived Forms
- volunteering
- volunteerism
- volunteerly
- volunteership
- voluntell

## Related Forms
- voluntarism
- voluntarist

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *welh₁-
- Root: voluntārius
- Affix: -eer - one who is concerned with

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

## AI Etymology
Volunteer is borrowed from Middle French voluntaire, from Latin voluntārius (“willing, voluntary”); or from voluntary + -eer. Important historical forms include Proto-Indo-European *welh₁-, and Latin voluntārius. In present-day use, it can mean a person who offers to do something, often without being paid, or to offer to do something willingly. Derived formations include volunteering, volunteerism, volunteerly, volunteership, voluntell.

## Topics
- People & Society

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