volunteer

/ˌvɒl(ə)nˈtɪə/

//ˌvɒl(ə)nˈtɪə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"volunteer" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“volunteer” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,501. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,501
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who enters into, or offers themselves for, any service of their own free will, especially when done without pay.

Corpus desk

Index EN-volunteer · volunteer · English

volunteer · rank #4,501 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,501
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH Turkish

Nearest frequency peer: Turkish (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “volunteer”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “volunteer” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

volunteer vs volunteers
90% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for volunteer
PropertyValue
Headwordvolunteer
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌvɒl(ə)nˈtɪə/
Letters9
Frequency rank#4,501
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “volunteer”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).volunteerlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Turkish” (#4,500), “7th” (#4,502), “tourism” (#4,499). Among 969 “V” headwords, “volunteer” is #4,501. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around volunteer (IPA /ˌvɒl(ə)nˈtɪə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,501 among 969 “V” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for volunteer, with forms such as "ovlunteer", "vlounteer", and "vollunteer". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "volunteers", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French voluntaire, from Latin voluntārius (“willing, voluntary”); or from voluntary + -eer. The correct English form is volunteer, spelled V-O-L-U-N-T-E-E-R.

Definition

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

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how volunteer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The volunteers at the nature reserve meet up ever other Sunday to help its upkeep.
  2. 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.

Etymology

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

This word in other languages

voluntario(Español)volontaire(Français)Freiwilliger(Deutsch)voluntário(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ovlunteer
  • vlounteer
  • vollunteer
  • volnuteer
  • voluneter
  • volunnteer
  • volunteerr
  • volunter
  • voluntere
  • voluntteer
  • volutneer
  • voulnteer
  • vvolunteer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of volunteer - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ovlunteer2vlounteer2vollunteer1volnuteer2voluneter2volunnteer1volunteerr1volunter1
Edit distance from "volunteer"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "volunteer"?
"volunteer" is spelled V-O-L-U-N-T-E-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌvɒl(ə)nˈtɪə/.
What does "volunteer" mean?
As a noun, "volunteer" means: One who enters into, or offers themselves for, any service of their own free will, especially when done without pay.
What words are commonly confused with "volunteer"?
"volunteer" is commonly confused with "volunteers". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "volunteer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "volunteer" is /ˌvɒl(ə)nˈtɪə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "volunteer"?
Borrowed from Middle French voluntaire, from Latin voluntārius (“willing, voluntary”); or from voluntary + -eer. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "volunteer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Cleveland#4,511satisfied#4,485promoting#4,478hilarious#4,531

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Thompson13 variantsstranger13 variantschurches13 variantspublicly13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list