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:
Both wild and domestic cats belong to the biological family Felidae, which includes every living cat species from tiny house pets to massive tigers.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
As a young veterinarian student, Jacob loses his parents in a tragic accident and jumps a moving train that just happens to belong to the Benzini Bros.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Compared with better-known inflammatory substances such as histamine and cytokines, epoxy-oxylipins belong to a relatively underexplored signaling system.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
For example: “This is excellent work and we should absolutely have it” and “We should therefore pay for it” ought logically to belong together.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
But Vic-E helped me pick out this cute flowery dress that’s got me feeling as if I belong wherever I go.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Zach Bryan, another singer-songwriter capable of filling U.S. stadiums, has said he belongs to neither party.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
One of them is the muon, a heavier relative of the electron that belongs to the second generation.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
"It is no longer Dangote but 'Yangote', the company belongs to us now," he said while laughing.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
“It’s meant to be protected. Everything in me resists sharing it publicly — not because I’m not grateful or joyful, but because this feels like one of the few things that truly belongs to me.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
“It is not! This house belongs to us!”
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
The court heard that Tajzai, an Afghan asylum seeker, wrongly believed Sherzad belonged to the Taliban, which had kidnapped his father and was suspected of killing him.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
In September, Walters moved out of his childhood home and rented a small house with Oxford that belonged to Oxford’s sister.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Four-time Olympic gold medallist swimmer Ariarne Titmus said she thought the marketing tactic belonged to the past.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
They tried to exploit a pair of bugs that could have allowed it to publish new versions of existing RubyGems’ files that belonged to other users, the AI researchers said in their report.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
It was the proper response, mind you, quite customary to the particular warrior clan to which Major Puff belonged.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
An AFP journalist reported that firefighters could be seen trying to extinguish the flames of a burnt-out fuel tank belonging to state oil and gas company Aramco.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
It’s as simple as ABC: agency, belonging and cause.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
A trove of internal data belonging to a China-based cybersecurity company, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, provides a new window into an evolution that international cybersecurity experts have tracked in recent years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
That translates into belonging in different spaces where I could have been uncomfortable in before, so it’s a great time to inhabit these characters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Feral horses, belonging to my grandfather, ran wild over thick banks of water hemlock, and there were more than a few rattlesnakes.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
