subscription

American  

[suhb-skrip-shuhn] / səbˈskrɪp ʃən /

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.

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subscription British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• nonsubscription noun
• presubscription noun
• prosubscription adjective
• resubscription noun
• subscriptive adjective
• subscriptively adverb

Etymology

Origin of subscription

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

Explanation

A subscription is an agreement conveyed with a signature. It's also buying a bunch of issues of a periodical, such as a year's subscription to "The New York Times" newspaper. See the word script in subscription? That's a clue that this word has to do with writing. Specifically, a subscription is the act of signing something that you agree to, like a petition. You can have a subscription to a belief too. Also, when you order a magazine or newspaper's future issues, you buy a subscription. Subscriptions like this usually last one year: you pay, and the magazine agrees to send you copies until your subscription runs out.

Example Sentences

Upfront costs can top $1,000, along with monthly subscription fees of $100 or more.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

Despite efforts to get people to pay subscription fees and buy glasses, Snap still makes most of its money from digital ads.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

Cindy Holland, a former Netflix executive who leads the company’s direct-to-consumer business, has signed off on 20 new and returning shows for subscription streaming service Paramount+ since joining the company last year, the company said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

All of this vibe-coding combined with Claude chatbot use costs Anthropic eye-watering sums that are far in excess of the $20, $100, or $200 someone spends on a monthly subscription.

From Slate • Apr. 14, 2026

“I’ve taken out a subscription to the Daily Prophet. I’m getting sick of finding everything out from the Slytherins.”

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

Related Words

• contribution