subscription

[ suhb-skrip-shuhn ]

noun

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.

subscription

/ 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

Derived Forms

• subˈscriptive, adjective

Other Words From

• sub·scrip·tive [s, uh, b-, skrip, -tiv], adjective
• sub·scriptive·ly adverb
• nonsub·scription noun
• presub·scription noun
• prosub·scription adjective
• resub·scription noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of subscription¹

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

Example Sentences

The company also offers support for subscriptions in Instant Articles, and as part of its broader efforts to fund journalism, Facebook also launched a Local News Subscription Accelerator.

From TechCrunch

Apple takes only a 15% cut from the subscriptions that Amazon Prime Video signs up through the Apple App Store.

From Digiday

Circulation and subscription revenue rose 6% — with subscriptions to The Wall Street Journal growing 15% to nearly 3 million — while ad revenue declined 28%.

From Digiday

He thinks some people may want to eventually pay for a subscription but it’s free for August.

From Voice of San Diego

Countless surveys of pay-TV customers say that live sports are a major reason why they continue to pay for their subscriptions.

From Quartz

“Jason tried to convince Steve Jobs that Apple should start a streaming music subscription business,”  Freston recalls.

From The Daily Beast

Jason told Jobs that music subscription was the future, and Steve jobs basically told him he was crazy.

From The Daily Beast

Fourteen-year-olds will not support a subscription-based model for music.

From The Daily Beast

The former half-term governor has started her own subscription-based Internet TV network.

From The Daily Beast

In any event,  on Sunday Palin unveiled her subscription-based Internet TV network, The Sarah Palin Channel.

From The Daily Beast

Government grants amount to about two-thirds of the income, the balance being raised by public subscription and from fees.

From Project Gutenberg

The first volume tells all about the gittin' up of the subscription and the sailin' of the wessel.

From Project Gutenberg

If a subscription has not been completed, death operates as a revocation and the subscriber's estate is not held for the amount.

From Project Gutenberg

It must have been made on occasions of federal ratification, and it might then have accompanied the subscription of the name.

From Project Gutenberg

It goes no further than the denunciation of the peer, and the raising of a subscription (generally inadequate) for the sufferers.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• contribution