subscription

American  

[suhb-skrip-shuhn] / səbˈskrɪp ʃən /

noun

• subscriptions
  plural

1. a sum of money given or pledged as a contribution, payment, investment, etc.

2. the right to receive a periodical for a sum paid, usually for an agreed number of issues.

3. an arrangement for presenting a series of concerts, plays, etc., that one may attend by the payment of a membership fee.

   to purchase a 10-concert subscription.

4. the right to receive a service or access text online for a certain period of time.

   a subscription to a media streaming service; a subscription to an online encyclopedia; a satellite-TV subscription.

5. Chiefly British. the dues paid by a member of a club, society, etc.

6. a fund raised through sums of money subscribed.

7. a sum subscribed.

8. the act of appending one's signature or mark, as to a document.

9. a signature or mark thus appended.

10. something written beneath or at the end of a document or the like.

11. a document to which a signature is attached.

12. assent, agreement, or approval expressed verbally or by signing one's name.

13. Ecclesiastical. assent to or acceptance of a body of principles or doctrines, the purpose of which is to establish uniformity.

14. Church of England. formal acceptance of the Thirty-nine Articles of 1563 and the Book of Common Prayer.

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subscription British  

/ səbˈskrɪpʃən /

noun

1. a payment or promise of payment for consecutive issues of a magazine, newspaper, book, etc, over a specified period of time

2. 1. the advance purchase of tickets for a series of concerts, operas, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a subscription concert

3. an amount of money paid or promised, as to a charity, or the fund raised in this way

4. an offer to buy shares or bonds issued by a company

5. the act of signing one's name to a document, etc

6. a signature or other appendage attached to the bottom of a document, etc

7. agreement, consent, or acceptance expressed by or as if by signing one's name

8. a signed document, statement, etc

9. the membership dues or fees paid to a society or club

10. acceptance of a fixed body of articles of faith, doctrines, or principles laid down as universally binding upon all the members of a Church

11. med that part of a written prescription directing the pharmacist how to mix and prepare the ingredients: rarely seen today as modern drugs are mostly prepackaged by the manufacturers

12. an advance order for a new product

13. 1. the sale of books, etc, prior to printing

    2. ( as modifier )

       a subscription edition

14. archaic allegiance; submission

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonsubscription
  noun
• presubscription
  noun
• resubscription
  noun
• prosubscription
  adjective
• subscriptive
  adjective
• subscriptively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• subscriptions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of subscription

1400–50; late Middle English < Old French subscription < Latin subscrīptiōn- (stem of subscrīptiō ) “something written beneath, signature, subscription” equivalent to subscrīpt ( us ) ( see subscript) + -iōn- -ion

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Explanation

A subscription is an agreement conveyed with a signature. It's also buying a bunch of issues of a periodical, such as a year's subscription to "The New York Times" newspaper. See the word script in subscription? That's a clue that this word has to do with writing. Specifically, a subscription is the act of signing something that you agree to, like a petition. You can have a subscription to a belief too. Also, when you order a magazine or newspaper's future issues, you buy a subscription. Subscriptions like this usually last one year: you pay, and the magazine agrees to send you copies until your subscription runs out.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

subscription subscriptions

Unlike its predecessor, "Modern Warfare 4" will not initially be available on Game Pass, Microsoft’s subscription service.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

The app features a generous free usage option along with paid subscription tiers, and Meta plans eventually to monetize the agent by taking a cut of sales facilitated by the agent.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

Netflix is still the most powerful force in subscription streaming.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

While Netflix continues to lead subscription streaming services, the company has continued to face growing scrutiny over how it plans to grow the Los Gatos company in the future.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

Annabelle gave him that subscription when it was on his Christmas list last year.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

According to Kuga, the trend should outlast the current period of inflation, as brick-and-mortar retailers seek new reasons to attract customers who are increasingly buying household products via Amazon subscriptions.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

Strong viewership is crucial to streamers because it signals that customers are satisfied and less likely to cancel their subscriptions, even after price hikes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

“With Netflix under pressure to find alternative lines of revenue beyond subscriptions, it’s concerning that the company lowered its estimate for its ad business,” said Ross Benes, senior analyst at research firm Emarketer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

“With Netflix under pressure to find alternative lines of revenue beyond subscriptions, it’s concerning that the company lowered its estimate for its ad business,” eMarketer analyst Ross Benes said in emailed remarks.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

About a quarter of one’s salary had to be earmarked for voluntary subscriptions, which were so numerous that it was difficult to keep track of them.

From "1984" by George Orwell

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