belong
Americanverb (used without object)
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belongs,
present (3rd person singular)
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belonged,
past participle, past
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belonging
present participle
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to be in the relation of a member, adherent, inhabitant, etc. (usually followed byto ).
He belongs to the Knights of Columbus.
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to have the proper qualifications, especially social qualifications, to be a member of a group.
You don't belong in this club.
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to be proper or due; be properly or appropriately placed, situated, etc..
Books belong in every home. This belongs on the shelf. He is a statesman who belongs among the great.
verb phrase
verb
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(foll by to) to be the property or possession (of)
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(foll by to) to be bound to (a person, place, or club) by ties of affection, dependence, allegiance, or membership
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to be classified (with)
this plant belongs to the daisy family
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(foll by to) to be a part or adjunct (of)
this top belongs to the smaller box
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to have a proper or usual place
that plate belongs in the cupboard
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informal to be suitable or acceptable, esp socially
although they were rich, they just didn't belong
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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belongsimple
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belongssimple
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have belongedperfect
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has belongedperfect
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am belongingprogressive
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are belongingprogressive
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is belongingprogressive
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have been belongingperfect progressive
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has been belongingperfect progressive
Past
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belongedsimple
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had belongedperfect
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was belongingprogressive
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were belongingprogressive
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had been belongingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of belong
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English belongen, from be- be- + longen “to belong,” verb derivative of long (adjective), Old English gelang “belonging to, dependent on”; cf. along ( def. ), long 3 ( def. )
Explanation
Things that belong to you are your property — in other words, you own them. Your prized rock collection belongs to you. There are several ways to use the verb belong. Items you buy or that are given to you belong to you. You also belong to a group of friends — you fit in, or are a member. When you feel at home somewhere, as though you're meant to be there, you also belong: "I belong in a big city!" The 14th century meaning of belong was "to go along with," from be- and longen, "to go."
Vocabulary lists containing belong
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
By determining which frogs belong to which species and mapping where they occur, the researchers have also created a stronger scientific basis for conservation in Madagascar, where many forests are rapidly disappearing.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
We can once again delineate the end of the era via new shows that don’t belong to it.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
The group belong to the Sanatan Mandir and Community Centre in Coulsdon.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
It’s about how to fight with those you want to belong to.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
“You keep saying your coyote. A wild animal doesn’t belong to anyone.”
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
“Because of its history, Volkswagen also belongs to us, the employees.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
“The real question is whether the market evidence verifies that this particular property belongs there,” he added.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
He belongs out there no more than Kiké Hernandez does.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Cook and former Great British Bake Off star Crystelle Pereira says "sweetcorn belongs in desserts"
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
Peugeot belongs to a particular genre of legal fictions called ‘limited liability companies’.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
After an hour-long search, documents did emerge from beneath the silt -- but they belonged to a neighbour and were duly returned.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
It was a strange little society of meats that belonged neither behind the butcher counter nor among the premium lunch meats — the thin-sliced turkey in its tidy package, the glossy hunk of honey ham.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
“I knew I belonged, and I knew I was going to do well,” Miles said earlier this season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
The participants belonged to the OneK1K cohort, a major Australian research project created to investigate how genetics affects individual immune cells across a large population.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
We talked about my father sometimes, the way he didn’t think I belonged here, and Luc said that my father had no idea what women were capable of.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Marshals escorting a 6-year-old Ruby Bridges to her newly integrated school, is showcased on a wall of its own, despite not belonging to Lucas or the museum.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
The court heard that a mobile phone belonging to the defendant, who at the time of the bail hearing had been on remand for 19 months, has never been found.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
"Life-saving equipment, including a lifeboat belonging to the Tugberk Imamoglu which had 10 crew members on board, has been found at sea. Unfortunately, the crew members were not inside," it said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Shuttle tankers belonging to Middle East state-controlled oil companies are hauling crude from the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Gulf of Oman.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
Wrapping my arms around my waist against the cold, I cross the street to the house belonging to Mrs. Veenstra and stand on the steps, my back facing Mrs. Janssen's home.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
