easy
A volunteer read stories at the community library.
What does Volunteer mean?
A volunteer freely offers to help or do something; volunteer can also mean to make that offer.
Dictionary definition
A volunteer is a person who freely offers to do something, often to help without expecting pay. As a verb, volunteer means to offer yourself, your time, a service, or information without being required or asked. It can also describe work done by volunteers or a plant that grows without being planted on purpose.
Example sentences
Volunteer in a sentence
medium
Niko volunteered to welcome families at the school fair.
hard
After Maya volunteered the answer, the class noticed a volunteer tomato plant growing beside the garden bed.
Writing practice
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Quick practice
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Practice the meaning of Volunteer
Answer three quick questions about its meaning and related words.
Question 1 of 3
Practice 1
What makes someone a volunteer?
The central idea is choosing freely to offer time, effort, a service, or participation.
Practice 2
Which sentence uses volunteer to mean give information without being asked?
Here, volunteered means offered information without first being asked for it.
Practice 3
What is a volunteer plant?
Gardeners and farmers use volunteer for a plant that sprouts on its own, often from seed left behind.
Practice complete
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Pronunciation coach
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Volunteer
Voice settings
Sounds like
vol · un · teer · strongest beat: teer
Tap each sound part, then blend the whole word together.
Learn
WordVolunteer.
Partnoun, verb, adjective.
MeaningVolunteer means A volunteer freely offers to help or do something; volunteer can also mean to make that offer.
ExampleExample: A volunteer read stories at the community library.
Word breakdown
3 syllables. Say each part, then blend the word.
- Syllables
- vol · un · teer
- Strongest beat
- teer
- Ending
- teer
- Tip
- Put a little extra energy on teer.
Your turn
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Synonyms
Words like Volunteer
helperA broad substitute for a person who helps, although a helper is not necessarily unpaid or acting by choice.
offerA close verb when volunteer means to put yourself, a service, or information forward willingly.
unpaid workerFits some service contexts, but volunteers may receive expenses or a small allowance and are defined mainly by freely choosing to serve.
Antonym review
Does Volunteer have an opposite?
Volunteer has no single antonym across its person, verb, adjective, information, and plant senses. Conscript contrasts only with voluntary military service, while refuse contrasts only with an offer to act.
Synonym practice
Want to practice volunteer synonyms in context? Try a Synonym Search question like "The volunteer helped pass out the books," then compare close word choices. Practice volunteer synonyms.
Word family
Volunteer word family
Base word
volunteer
noun
volunteers
More than one volunteer, or the present-tense verb used with he, she, or it.
verb
volunteered
The past-tense and past-participle form.
noun
volunteering
The activity of freely giving time or effort, or the continuing verb form.
adjective
voluntary
Done by free choice rather than by force or requirement.
noun
volunteerism
The practice or principle of doing volunteer service.
Related words
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Student support
Understand Volunteer
Hint for students
Look for the idea of free choice: a person offers help, someone offers to act or speak, or a plant appears without being planted on purpose.
Common mix-up
A volunteer is not defined simply as an employee who is unpaid. The key idea is freely choosing to offer service or participation; some volunteers may receive expenses or a small allowance. Volunteering another person can imply choosing for them, so ask first.
Try it in class or at home
Students sort sentences into person, action, offered information, adjective, and plant meanings, then write a respectful invitation that lets someone choose whether to volunteer.
Teacher prompt
Compare volunteer as a person, an action, a describing word, offered information, and a plant term. Ask what stays the same across the uses and what changes.
Learning activities
Practice Volunteer and explore more word games
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Synonym Search
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