- present participle of belong.
belonging
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of belonging
Explanation
Belonging is a sense of fitting in or feeling like you are an important member of a group. A really close family gives each of its members a strong sense of belonging. When you belong, you are an official part of a group ("She belongs to the French club") or you're compatible with certain people or suited to a specific place ("I just belong in nature"). A feeling of belonging describes this sense of truly fitting or meshing, especially with friends, family members, or other sympathetic folks.
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:
"In 2023 alone, 45 unreleased songs belonging to Ms Grande were hacked, stolen, and leaked," the documents said.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Most of that is due to the destruction of goods belonging to vendors, rather than Wildberries’ buildings themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The AI lab behind the Claude chatbot is also in talks for a deal worth billions to use infrastructure belonging to Facebook and Instagram parent Meta, according to media reports.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
“A sense of belonging where students feel valued, connected and supported.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
"For an instant in time I was free and alone in the dark night," he recalled, "poised between two worlds, belonging to neither."
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
Most of its 35 tenants lost vehicles or belongings stored in the garage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
Elvie said police had advised her family to pack belongings on Sunday morning in anticipation of the grass fire reaching their area.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Nearby, British couple Martin and Elizabeth Smith were leaving the hall with their belongings.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
Zakharchenko and her family are packing up their belongings as they look for another place to rent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
She has very few belongings, but she has managed to keep her little doll Ah Choo through it all.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
