--- description: After United Airlines forcibly removed a passenger on an overbooked flight, searches for "volunteer" spiked on Merriam-Webster's website title: Searches for 'Volunteer' Definition Spiked 1900% After United Airlines Incident image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34c783577a13881e/6988bffe7cdbac4fbfd579db/unitedairlines.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Culture](/tag/culture/) ## Culture Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Searches for 'Volunteer' Definition Spiked 1900% After United Airlines Incident by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 10, 2017 6:38 PM CUT  A newly painted United Airlines jet is seen in this UAL handout photograph from its corporate headquarters February 19, 2004 in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. A newly painted United Airlines jet is seen in this UAL handout photograph from its corporate headquarters February 19, 2004 in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.United Airlines—Getty Images by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 10, 2017 6:38 PM CUT The video that showed a passenger [being forcibly removed](http://time.com/4732783/united-airlines-man-doctor-removed-overbooked-flight/?xid=homepage "undefined") from an overbooked United Airlines flight had many wondering what “volunteer” actually means. In fact, searches for the word “volunteer” spiked 1900% on [Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary](https://www.merriam-webster.com/news-trend-watch/united-our-team-looked-for-volunteers-20170410 "undefined") Monday after United Airlines [removed](http://fortune.com/2017/04/10/united-airlines-overbooked-flight-video/ "undefined") a man from a flight after “one customer refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily,” according to the airline. [Merriam-Webster](http://motto.time.com/4729330/merriam-webster-social-media-team-donald-trump/ "undefined") defines “volunteer” as “someone who does something without being forced to do it” — contradicting United’s use of the term following the incident. “After our team looked for volunteers, one customer refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily and law enforcement was asked to come to the gate,” the company said in a statement Monday morning. In a separate [statement](http://newsroom.united.com/news-releases?item=124753 "undefined"), United CEO Oscar Munoz [apologized](http://fortune.com/2017/04/10/united-airlines-ceo-passenger-removed-video-upsetting/ "undefined") “for having to re-accommodate these customers.” Typically if flights are [overbooked](http://time.com/money/4733096/overbooked-flight-united-passenger-rights-compensation/ "undefined"), airlines will offer vouchers and incentives for passengers to volunteer to take another flight to their destination. In the case of Sunday evening’s United Airlines Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville, passengers had already boarded the plane and no one was willing to volunteer for the switch, passenger Audra Bridges [told the _Courier-Journal_](http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2017/04/10/video-shows-man-forcibly-removed-united-flight-chicago-louisville/100274374/ "undefined"). United officials then randomly selected four passengers to switch flights to make way for four United employees who had to catch a flight in Louisville. A man who was randomly chosen refused to leave his seat, claiming he was a doctor and had patients to see Monday morning. Three security officials then came on board, pulled him from his seat and dragged him through the aisle of the airplane. The incident [sparked outrage](http://time.com/4732965/united-airlines-removes-passenger-reactions/?xid=homepage "undefined") online and after United released its statement, many questioned if the airline understood what the term “volunteer” meant: > [](https://twitter.com/petridishes/status/851481095455551494) > [](https://twitter.com/AG%5FConservative/status/851423059764490240) > [](https://twitter.com/markram%5FXD/status/851484858006294528) Munoz, the CEO of United Airlines, said the company will review the incident “with a sense of urgency” and also plans to speak to the passenger who was removed from the plane. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4733425/united-airlines-volunteer-definition/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4733425/united-airlines-volunteer-definition/"},"headline":"Searches for 'Volunteer' Definition Spiked 1900% After United Airlines Incident","datePublished":"2017-04-10T18:38:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:19:33.112Z","description":"Many on social media questioned if United knows what \"volunteer\" actually means","url":"https://time.com/4733425/united-airlines-volunteer-definition/","keywords":["Culture","Aviation","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34c783577a13881e/6988bffe7cdbac4fbfd579db/unitedairlines.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jennifer Calfas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34c783577a13881e/6988bffe7cdbac4fbfd579db/unitedairlines.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A newly painted United Airlines jet is seen in this UAL handout photograph from its corporate headquarters February 19, 2004 in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.","caption":"A newly painted United Airlines jet is seen in this UAL handout photograph from its corporate headquarters February 19, 2004 in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.","creditText":"United Airlines—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/culture/","name":"Culture"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4733425/united-airlines-volunteer-definition/","name":"Searches for 'Volunteer' Definition Spiked 1900% After United Airlines Incident"}}]}] ```