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
Derived Forms
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subscribernoun
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subscribershipnoun
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presubscribeverb
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resubscribeverb
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nonsubscribingadjective
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subscribableadjective
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unsubscribedadjective
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unsubscribingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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subscribesimple
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subscribessimple
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have subscribedperfect
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has subscribedperfect
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am subscribingprogressive
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are subscribingprogressive
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is subscribingprogressive
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have been subscribingperfect progressive
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has been subscribingperfect progressive
Past
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subscribedsimple
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had subscribedperfect
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was subscribingprogressive
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were subscribingprogressive
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had been subscribingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of subscribe
1375–1425; late Middle English subscriben < Latin subscrībere, equivalent to sub- sub- + scrībere to write
Explanation
If you subscribe to something, you sign up to receive it regularly. If you subscribe to the New York Times, it's delivered to your door every morning or you get online access. When you subscribe to a belief, you adopt it as your own. You might subscribe to the notion that children should be seen and not heard, or you might wholeheartedly subscribe to your town's proposal to save the wetlands. A less common use of subscribe is to sign your name on something, reflecting the origin of the word, which comes from the Latin subscribere, "to write below," that is, to sign at the bottom of a document.
Vocabulary lists containing subscribe
Latin Root "sub" Words
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Latin Love: Scribere: To write (scrib, scrip)
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The Taming of the Shrew
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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.
See Examples For:
This chimes with other research which suggests that men are twice as likely to invest in stocks and shares than women, external, and women are more likely to subscribe to cash ISAs than men, external.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Or, you can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2026
So one thing we’ve done is subscribe to clothing-rental services, such as Nuuly, which lets customers borrow six items for $70 a month.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
Follow her on X External link and subscribe to her Barron’s Global Signals External link newsletter.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 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
“Sarah is reaching out directly to voters and offers this unique perspective that you don’t usually hear,” said Ryan Brenizer, a 47-year-old photographer in Montvale, N.J., who subscribes to the Bulwark.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
The average U.S. household now subscribes to four streaming services, paying an average of $69 per month, according to a recent digital-media report from Deloitte.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 2, 2026
Tesla fleet currently subscribes to FSD, with investors anticipating future growth from a robo-taxi platform.
From Barron's ● Dec. 14, 2025
Dance Mom clearly subscribes to the phrase “Dance like no one is watching.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2025
My mom generally subscribes to the more positive, optimistic school of thought, and my dad believes the doomsayers are underplaying the truth.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
Last week, it began testing free trials for people who had never subscribed in a number of markets around the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
Mark Roberts, managing partner at the Blueshirt Group, also expects the offerings to be well subscribed.
From Barron's ● May 17, 2026
Currently, the California Energy Commission handles the highly subscribed, state-funded program, which serves Californians in every legislative district.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
He also changed the email registered to his cryptocurrency exchange account to an email address that was not subscribed to in his name.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 24, 2026
Alyx clearly subscribed to Rachel’s belief in looking cute on the first day.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Bernstein expects Tencent’s agentic AI rollout to happen gradually and monetization to come via merchants subscribing to the new agentic AI services to get more traffic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Over the past four weeks of subscribing to Good Inside, I’ve taken this approach more.
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
Distil Coworking offers a fully equipped office environment for freelancers, remote workers and small businesses, with members subscribing monthly for access to hot desks, a café and 3.5 acres of gardens.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2026
Are you subscribing to any streaming services you’re not using or ordering in more food than you realize?
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 27, 2026
“I’m guessing you saw the latest vlog and you’re not too impressed. Whereas I’m impressed you’re actually subscribing to me. See, I see you in my channel’s new subscribers list from yesterday: janjan123,” Sausun says.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
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.
