unsubscribe

American  

[uhn-suhb-skrahyb] / ˌʌn səbˈskraɪb /

verb (used without object)

unsubscribed, unsubscribing

1. to cancel a subscription to or remove a name from an online mailing list, publication, or service.

---

verb (used with object)

unsubscribed, unsubscribing

1. to remove (a subscriber) from an online mailing list, publication, etc.

unsubscribe British  

/ ˌʌnsəbˈskraɪb /

verb

1. (intr) to cancel a subscription, for example to an emailing service

   you can unsubscribe at the following URL

---

Etymology

Origin of unsubscribe

First recorded in 1980–85; un- ² ( def. ) + subscribe ( def. )

Explanation

When you cancel an agreement to receive a magazine, newsletter, or streaming service, you unsubscribe. If a political group sends an overwhelming number of emails every week, you should probably unsubscribe. To subscribe is to sign up for something, from the Latin root subscribere, "sign or write underneath." When you add the prefix un-, "not," you get unsubscribe. If you ever realize you regret subscribing to something, whether it's the local newspaper you never have time to read, or an expensive cake-of-the-month club, you can always decide to unsubscribe!

Example Sentences

Standard money advice tells you to unsubscribe from paid services, but unsubscribing from the temptation to spend can save you significantly more in the long run.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026

And bring your bills, your credit-card statements, your school forms, the streaming services you need to unsubscribe from, the airline miles you need to manage, the expenses app you need to figure out.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

Every website has a different unsubscribe mechanism, which means that we have to learn that mechanism, Ariely said.

From Salon • Feb. 10, 2025

Californians will soon be getting more protection against these sorts of abuses, however, including the right to unsubscribe with one click of the mouse.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 24, 2024

It, along with all other listserv commands, can be abbreviated—-subscribe as sub, unsubscribe as unsub, etc.

From Zen and the Art of the Internet by Kehoe, Brendan P.