volunteers

Noun

volunteer (plural volunteers)

1. One who enters into, or offers themselves for, any service of their own free will, especially when done without pay.
   • The volunteers at the nature reserve meet up ever other Sunday to help its upkeep.
2. 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.
3. A voluntary member of the organized militia of a country, as distinguished from a regular or member of the standing army.
   • 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
4. A person who acts out of their own will without a legal obligation, such as a donor.
5. A plant that grows spontaneously, without being cultivated on purpose; see volunteer plant in Wikipedia.
6. A native or resident of the American state of Tennessee.

See all 11 meanings of volunteer