subscribe

 
Pronunciation: /səbˈskrʌɪb/

verb

  • 1 [no object] arrange to receive something, typically a publication, regularly by paying in advance: subscribe to the magazine for twelve months and receive a free limited-edition T-shirt
  • arrange for access to an electronic mailing list or online service: some 40,000 users have subscribed to the service
  • contribute or undertake to contribute a certain sum of money to a fund, project, or cause, typically on a regular basis: he is one of the millions who subscribe to the NSPCC [with object]: he subscribed £400 to the campaign
  • [with object] apply to participate in: the course has been fully subscribed
  • apply for or undertake to pay for an issue of shares: they subscribed to the July rights issue at 300p a share [with object]: the issue was fully subscribed
  • [with object] (of a bookseller) agree before publication to take (a certain number of copies of a book): most of the first print run of 15,000 copies has been subscribed
  • 2 [no object] (subscribe to) express or feel agreement with (an idea or proposal): we prefer to subscribe to an alternative explanation
  • 3 [with object] formal sign (a will, contract, or other document): he subscribed the will as a witness
  • sign (one’s name) on such a document: he was ordered to subscribe his name
  • [with complement] (subscribe oneself) archaic sign oneself as: he ventured still to subscribe himself her most obedient servant

Origin:

late Middle English (in the sense 'sign at the bottom of a document'): from Latin subscribere, from sub- 'under' + scribere 'write'