Subscribes

Subscribes is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb subscribe. It is used to describe the act of subscribing in the present, including enrolling in a service, a newsletter, or a publication, as well as pledging or endorsing a document or contract. The noun form for a person who subscribes is subscriber; subscribes itself is not commonly used as a noun in modern English.

Origins and senses: Subscribe comes from Latin sub scribere, meaning “to write under” or “to sign underneath.” Through Old French and Middle English, it evolved into the modern verb with several senses, including to commit to a service, to agree with a proposition, or to sign a document as a pledge of support.

Usage notes: In contemporary contexts, you subscribe to a newsletter, a streaming service, or a magazine. The phrase “the service subscribes users” is less common; more typical is “the service signs up new users” or “new users subscribe to the service.” In legal or formal contexts, to subscribe to an agreement or treaty means to pledge assent or to sign and endorse the document.

Related terms: Subscriber (a person who subscribes), subscription (the act or period of subscribing, or the arrangement itself), sign-up, signatory, pledge.

Subscribes thus functions primarily as a verb form used to describe ongoing acts of subscribing in present tense, while the related nouns and other verb forms cover the broader ecosystem of subscriptions and endorsements.