belong
Americanverb (used without object)
-
belongs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
belonged,
past participle, past
-
belonging
present participle
-
to be in the relation of a member, adherent, inhabitant, etc. (usually followed byto ).
He belongs to the Knights of Columbus.
-
to have the proper qualifications, especially social qualifications, to be a member of a group.
You don't belong in this club.
-
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
-
(foll by to) to be the property or possession (of)
-
(foll by to) to be bound to (a person, place, or club) by ties of affection, dependence, allegiance, or membership
-
to be classified (with)
this plant belongs to the daisy family
-
(foll by to) to be a part or adjunct (of)
this top belongs to the smaller box
-
to have a proper or usual place
that plate belongs in the cupboard
-
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
-
belongsimple
-
belongssimple
-
have belongedperfect
-
has belongedperfect
-
am belongingprogressive
-
are belongingprogressive
-
is belongingprogressive
-
have been belongingperfect progressive
-
has been belongingperfect progressive
Past
-
belongedsimple
-
had belongedperfect
-
was belongingprogressive
-
were belongingprogressive
-
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:
Electrons belong to a group of particles called fermions, and quantum mechanics prevents fermions from gathering in the same state.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
The petition argues that Kumar exercised powers that belong to the commission collectively and seeks a ruling that any such actions were unauthorised.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
In June, the company said that it had received $800 million in refunds that belong to its customers and that it would start disbursing the funds in August.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Many of the companies that supply hotel fragrances belong to the Switzerland-based International Fragrance Assn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Because it doesn’t belong to a house or an apartment.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Misty carries herself imperiously, faking success with a Birkin bag and beachfront crash pad that belongs to a dead lover whose widow wants it back.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
We have $1.6 million in retirement accounts, a little more than half of which belongs to my husband.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
Fe5GeTe2, discovered seven years ago, belongs to a family of materials known as van der Waals magnets.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
Sophie lives by herself in a small, tatty apartment that belongs to her vile ex-husband, Paul.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
The primary bedroom belongs to me and Camille, mostly because it’s the only space big enough for two twin beds.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
His family had a big house, belonged to a country club and paid for his college and graduate school.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
He belonged to a family of the founders of Be’eri.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
But when Swaggart caught wind of the tryst, he saw an opportunity to topple his rival and took the matter to the Assemblies of God, the church fellowship both preachers belonged to.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The women around El-Sayed belonged to the Woman Difference Collaborative, an invitation-only network of Black women faith leaders founded by the Rev. Jessica Ingram.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
I could tell by the color that it belonged to one of the guards.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Earlier this year, he was acquitted in a second trial of 241 counts of illegally accessing email accounts belonging to a number of sports bodies in Portugal, including Benfica.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
In Malibu, an enormous sink hole emerged in the driveway of a home belonging to Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage when pounding waves from a nearby hurricane eroded the coastline.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
But growing up in Los Angeles, he found a sense of belonging in a multicultural community that gave him an appreciation for different cultures, cuisines and music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Probing it, they discovered that OpenAI agents had attempted to penetrate sites belonging to the Australian government.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Being a human belonging to the wallflower genus, I’m kinda used to swallowing my words instead of speaking them.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
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.
