subscribe
Americanverb (used with object)
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to pledge, as by signing an agreement, to give or pay (a sum of money) as a contribution, gift, or investment.
He subscribed $6,000 for the new church.
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to give or pay in fulfillment of such a pledge.
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to append one's signature or mark to (a document), as in approval or attestation of its contents.
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to attest by or as by signing.
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to append, as one's signature, at the bottom of a document or the like; sign.
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to agree or assent to.
verb (used without object)
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to pledge, as by signing an agreement, to give or pay money as a contribution, gift, or investment.
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to give or pay money in fulfillment of such a pledge.
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to obtain or have a subscription to a publication, concert series, service, etc..
She subscribes to two food magazines.
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to give one's consent; sanction.
I will not subscribe to popular fallacies.
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to sign one's name to a document.
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to give approval to the contents of a document by signing one's name.
verb
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(usually foll by to) to pay or promise to pay (a sum of money) as a contribution (to a fund or charity, for a magazine, etc), esp at regular intervals
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to inscribe or sign (one's name, etc) at the end of a contract, will, or other document
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to give support or approval
to subscribe to the theory of transubstantiation
Other Word Forms
- nonsubscribing adjective
- presubscribe verb
- resubscribe verb
- subscribable adjective
- subscriber noun
- subscribership noun
- unsubscribed adjective
- unsubscribing adjective
Etymology
Origin of subscribe
1375–1425; late Middle English subscriben < Latin subscrībere, equivalent to sub- sub- + scrībere to write
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When Carmen, from London, took out a free trial of Adobe Creative Cloud, she wanted to subscribe for three months.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
People looking to save money can subscribe to some of these services monthly, and then unsubscribe during months when no games are on that platform — instead of paying for a full-year subscription.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026
Customers who don’t subscribe to Amazon Prime would pay much more with the fees being $19.99 for one-hour delivery and $14.99 for 3-hour delivery.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026
Netflix says the statistic isn’t meaningful because 80% of HBO Max subscribers also subscribe to Netflix.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
He was one of those prissy retirees one sees frequently in New England, the sort who subscribe to antique magazines and carry those canvas tote bags they give as gift premiums on public TV.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
