noun / verb / adjective
volunteer
vahl-un-TEER/ˌvɑːlənˈtɪr/
A person who freely offers help, or offering help by choice.
The volunteer freely helps by serving food in the community kitchen.
Etymology
The same formation meaning 'of one's free will' became a name for a willing participant. A volunteer originally offered himself for military service; the term then broadened to someone freely entering any service.
In context
I need another volunteer who wouldn't mind being not only on video but also on video and ergo video come on anyone at all
More examples
- I volunteer at the food pantry every Saturday.
- She volunteered to drive her neighbor to the clinic.
- The town depends on its volunteer firefighters.
Forms
volunteer · volunteers · volunteered · volunteering
voluntary adjective — Done by choice rather than obligation.
volunteerism noun — The practice of freely offering service.
Similar words
- helper
- A helper provides assistance, whether freely or as assigned.
- offer
- Offer emphasizes proposing help, not necessarily performing the service.