subscribe

American  

[suhb-skrahyb] / səbˈskraɪb /

verb (used with object)

subscribed, subscribing

1. 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.

2. to give or pay in fulfillment of such a pledge.

3. to append one's signature or mark to (a document), as in approval or attestation of its contents.

4. to attest by or as by signing.

5. to append, as one's signature, at the bottom of a document or the like; sign.

6. to agree or assent to.

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verb (used without object)

subscribed, subscribing

1. to pledge, as by signing an agreement, to give or pay money as a contribution, gift, or investment.

2. to give or pay money in fulfillment of such a pledge.

3. to obtain or have a subscription to a publication, concert series, service, etc..

   She subscribes to two food magazines.

4. to give one's consent; sanction.

   I will not subscribe to popular fallacies.

5. to sign one's name to a document.

6. to give approval to the contents of a document by signing one's name.

subscribe British  

/ səbˈskraɪb /

verb

1. (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

2. to inscribe or sign (one's name, etc) at the end of a contract, will, or other document

3. to give support or approval

   to subscribe to the theory of transubstantiation

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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

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.

Example Sentences

But there is a silver lining of sorts — with less “must-see TV,” there are fewer reasons to subscribe to so many services.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026

Listen to the entire conversation with Brendan Hunt on “Everything Fab Four” and subscribe via Spotify, Apple, Google or wherever you’re listening.

From Salon • Apr. 23, 2026

"The big losers from this cut are those who subscribe to Game Pass for a month or two to play the latest Call of Duty, and then leave," said Dring.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

Would you subscribe to all of those services in order to read this garbage?

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

I first saw that picture in the daily digital news feed our history teacher made us subscribe to, and I think it might be the loneliest picture I’ve ever seen.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

Related Words

• ante up
• sign up