subscriber
Americannoun
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subscribers
plural
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a person, company, etc., that subscribes, as to a publication or concert series.
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a homeowner, apartment dweller, business, etc., that pays a monthly charge to be connected to a television cable service.
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a person who promises to donate a sum of money, purchase stock, etc.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of subscriber
Explanation
A subscriber is someone who supports a cause, philosophy, or an actual service, often through paying money. For example, a subscriber to a streaming service may pay a monthly fee to watch the provider's television shows and movies. The word subscriber comes from the Latin roots sub, meaning "under," and scrib, meaning "write." So subscribers can be thought of as those who sign their names at the bottom of a contract — either literally or figuratively. Magazine subscribers literally sign a contract to pay a monthly fee to get the latest issues delivered to them. But subscribers may also just be people who strongly agree with or adopt a philosophy or lifestyle, figuratively "signing on."
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:
An avid sports fan who enjoyed playing tennis and was often at Lakers and Dodgers games, Cannom was also a longtime subscriber to both the symphony and the L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
At the time, the streamer was under pressure by investors to diversify its content to attract more customers, after experiencing two quarters of subscriber losses in 2022.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The deal combines Charter’s 31 million customers with Cox’s six million to create the nation’s largest internet and video provider by subscriber base, spanning homes and businesses around the country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
For 2027, the pace of Medicare Advantage subscriber growth could ease again, but likely not as sharply.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Your YouTube subscriber count is at three hundred and sixteen, and growing.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
American company Good Good, which has 2.13m subscribers to its golf channel on YouTube and sponsors a PGA Tour tournament, had created and published the advert for golf club manufacturer Callaway.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
Defector, a cooperative founded by former Deadspin staffers, bills itself as “the last good website,” and an appreciative community of subscribers seem to agree.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
Spiraling monthly cable bills — largely driven by increases in sports rights fees — have made cable TV less attractive to ordinary subscribers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Versant is aiming to wean itself off of the pay-TV business due to the decline in subscribers who have migrated to streaming video.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
A certificate would be sent to subscribers and a book with their names and cosmic numbers would be registered in the Library of Congress.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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.
