belong
[bih-lawng, -long]
- to be in the relation of a member, adherent, inhabitant, etc. (usually followed by to): 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.
Show More
- belong to,
- to be the property of: The book belongs to her.
- to be a part or adjunct of: That cover belongs to this jar.
Show More
Origin of belong
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
resideapplyexistfitpermeatevestsetgoinheretouchchimeconcernsuitharmonizematchreferaccordassociateregardbearExamples from the Web for belonged
Contemporary Examples
Finally, as the sun was about to set, she came upon a little cottage that belonged to seven dwarfs.
Stamped “MNR,” they belonged to families who had fled or been deported and will never return to claim them.
Another can had a fingerprint that belonged neither to her nor the brothers.
How the North Carolina GOP Made a Wrongfully Convicted Man a Death Row ScapegoatMichael Daly
September 4, 2014
The ex-wife was accused of no wrongdoing, especially after she produced a shotgun that she said also belonged to Morgan.
The Mystery of Donald Ray Morgan, the 44-Year-Old American Who Loved ISISMichael Daly
August 12, 2014
It belonged to one Alexander Yurtayev, born in the Chechen capital of Grozny in 1961.
Historical Examples
His name was Joseph and he belonged to the tribe of the Hebrews.
Ancient ManHendrik Willem van Loon
They belonged to the times when 30,000 men were an army, and when campaigns were spent in sieges.
I told him I belonged to a man by the name of Potts, and that I was going to his plantation.
Biography of a SlaveCharles Thompson
Hester knew nothing of the state of either, nor had they ever belonged to her flock.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
Kisses were rare in the staid little household to which she belonged.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
belong
- (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
- (foll by to, under, with, etc) 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 placethat plate belongs in the cupboard
- informal to be suitable or acceptable, esp sociallyalthough they were rich, they just didn't belong
Show More
Word Origin
C14 belongen, from be- (intensive) + longen; related to Old High German bilangēn to reach; see long ³
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for belonged
belong
v.
mid-14c., "to go along with, properly relate to," from be- intensive prefix, + longen "to go," from Old English langian "pertain to, to go along with," of unknown origin. Senses of "be the property of" and "be a member of" first recorded late 14c. Cognate with Middle Dutch belanghen, Dutch belangen, German belangen. Replaced earlier Old English gelang, with completive prefix ge-.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with belonged
belong
see to the victor belong the spoils.
Show More
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.