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:
I lived at the Chateau Marmont for the better part of three years, then I bought an apartment in New York and went back to where I really belong.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
You don’t own a boat or belong to an expensive country club, and you have $4 million in investments waiting for you to tap.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
"Real Zaragoza belong to Europe, they belong to compete for trophies, to be fighting with the biggest clubs in Spain and in Europe," said Herrera.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Rubio issued a warning to them and other U.S. allies that belong to the court.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Because it doesn’t belong to a house or an apartment.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
"But when I held the earring they took from your body, all I could think was: That belongs to you," she wrote.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
He belongs to a generation too young to have experienced the vibrant cultural scene that teemed in Havana for decades.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
The organism at the center of the discovery belongs to a group of protists called ciliates.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
It describes several overlapping anxieties about modern restaurant food, but its prehistory belongs, at least partly, to the ghost kitchen.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 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
Occasionally, someone stole one, apparently deciding that a restaurant pager belonged in the same category of souvenir as a pebbled Coke glass.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
It belonged to Hsuan-An Pan, who was with her golden retriever, Theo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
However, this was a night where the headlines belonged to Barcola, who on the 238th appearance of his career across clubs and country combined, scored his first hat-trick.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
By comparing the fossil with other prehistoric specimens and living animals, the team determined that Megacauda sungei belonged to the docodonts, an extinct group of early mammal relatives known as mammaliaforms.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
But after seeing that Cocoon, the risk felt far away and unreal, like it belonged to someone else’s life and not my own.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Medical records belonging to a man killed by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park may have been accessed "without a legitimate reason" by staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service, a spokesperson has said.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
He lives with his wife and their three children, aged four, seven and eight, in a flat belonging to the Madrid regional government's social housing agency that they occupy without authorisation.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Regional tensions remained elevated after Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said a building belonging to Saudi Aramco in Dhahran was targeted Tuesday evening.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Most of these finds were identified as belonging to known species named from neighboring South Africa.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
I find myself humming it, even tho it don’t have a tune, trying to get that feeling of connectedness, of belonging, of having someone there to say that you’re Here.
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
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