To subscribe means to sign up to receive something regularly, usually by paying a fee or agreeing to certain terms. When you subscribe to a magazine, it arrives at your house every month. When your family subscribes to a streaming service, you can watch shows and movies as long as the subscription continues.

Today, many subscriptions are digital: you might subscribe to a YouTube channel to see new videos when they're posted, or subscribe to a podcast to get each episode automatically.

Subscriptions work differently than one-time purchases. Instead of buying a single issue of a magazine or renting one movie, you pay regularly (monthly or yearly) for ongoing access. Some subscriptions are free, like subscribing to a newsletter or following someone's blog, while others cost money.

The opposite of subscribing is unsubscribing, which means canceling your regular access. If you find you're not reading those emails anymore, you can unsubscribe to stop receiving them. When someone subscribes to an idea or belief, they support it or agree with it strongly, though this meaning is less common today.