English Reference

Word

subscriber

Phoneticssub·scriber

US/səbsˈkɹaɪbɝ/

UK/səbskɹˈaɪbɐ/

Definitions

01person using a service

B1

n. someone who pays for or signs up to receive a magazine, a streaming service, or regular updates from a website.

n. an individual who pays a subscription fee or registers for regular access to a publication, digital service, or telecommunications network.

“The magazine has over ten thousand monthly subscribers who receive the print edition by mail.”

“The streaming platform reported a significant increase in new subscribers following the release of its highly anticipated original series.”

Usage

often used with the preposition 'to' followed by the service name.

02software component

C1 · Computing

n. a part of a computer system that waits for and receives specific information or updates from another part.

n. a software component or object that registers to receive events, messages, or data updates from a publisher in a messaging pattern.

“The subscriber receives a notification every time the database is updated.”

“In this architecture, the subscriber remains decoupled from the publisher, allowing for greater scalability and easier maintenance of the messaging system.”

Technical

Usage

typically used in the context of the 'publish-subscribe' architectural pattern.

Synonyms

Antonyms

03person who signs a document

C2 · Law

n. a person who signs their name at the bottom of a formal document to show they agree with it.

n. a person whose signature appears at the end of a document, often to indicate agreement, support, or financial commitment.

“The subscribers to the agreement promised to provide the necessary funding.”

“The subscribers of the petition demanded a formal inquiry into the local council's recent zoning decisions.”

Formal

Usage

frequently appears in legal contracts or formal petitions.

Synonyms

signatoryundersigned

Real-World Examples

“The paid Truth Social service offers subscribers near-instant delivery of Trump's posts, arriving seconds before they appear for the general public.”
BBC News · 12 Aug 2026
“It has been viewed as a way to give subscribers an edge in trading stocks and other heavily traded assets.”
BBC News · 11 Aug 2026

Etymology

From subscribe + -er.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Word family

Domain

Programming

This entry

Level
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/subscriber

English Reference