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:
What it might be like to arrive at a Mediterranean island on a yacht and to think that the next logical step is that this island should belong to you.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
The vans belong to young Israeli squatters who play their own waiting game, smoking cigarettes and milling about.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
In California, the proposed changes would cover the more than 85 nonprofit colleges and universities that belong to the Assn. of Independent California Colleges and Universities, among them Stanford and USC.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
"We want this to be a place where people can come along, learn, share their skills, meet others and feel that they belong," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
“But the future’s even better,” Mr. Hodge said, as JB interjected, “No, you really don’t belong in the twenty-first century.”
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
There is a strange nostalgia in realizing that something once so immediate now belongs increasingly to people who know it only as the past.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
All land that tourist development happens on belongs, in some way, to someone: the state, indigenous people, or individuals.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
Sorbitol belongs to a group of compounds known as polyols, commonly called sugar alcohols.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
The home belongs to Cole Worthy's father, Gye Worthy, and the ramming happened on the same night Cole died.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
They were not arts, and it would have been incomprehensible to claim then, as we do now, that philosophy belongs with the arts, not the sciences.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Opened in 1960, it was Renoir's last home before his death in 1919, and also features many things that once belonged to him, including his easel and wheelchair, as well as photographs and personal letters.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Its closest known relative lived in what is now Spain, suggesting that these animals belonged to a broader lineage that once occupied regions that are now separated by the Atlantic Ocean.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026
She bore a large scar on her face when she met with AFP at her home in Bethlehem, holding a stuffed fox that had belonged to her son.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
U.S. officials said the rocket launchers that were struck belonged to the Revolutionary Guards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
The thing she’d wanted, the thing she dreamed of, belonged to her and was better than anything she could have fathomed.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
A single venom can contain around 100 toxin proteins belonging to multiple protein families, and venom composition differs from one snake species to another.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026
She helps facilitate the Outdoor Equity program aimed at helping young people of color find belonging in outdoor spaces through hiking, camping, and kayaking, while advocating around environmental racism and access to nature.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026
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
"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
I could feel the tension in my shoulders release as an immediate sense of belonging settled over me.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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.
