Showing results for "belonging"

• present participle of belong.

belonging

American  

[bih-lawng-ing, -long-] / bɪˈlɔŋ ɪŋ, -ˈlɒŋ- /

noun

• belongings
  plural

1. 

   something that belongs.

2. belongings, possessions; goods; personal effects.

---

belonging British  

/ bɪˈlɒŋɪŋ /

noun

1. secure relationship; affinity (esp in the phrase a sense of belonging )

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unbelonging
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• belongings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of belonging

First recorded in 1595–1605; belong + -ing ¹

Explanation

Belonging is a sense of fitting in or feeling like you are an important member of a group. A really close family gives each of its members a strong sense of belonging. When you belong, you are an official part of a group ("She belongs to the French club") or you're compatible with certain people or suited to a specific place ("I just belong in nature"). A feeling of belonging describes this sense of truly fitting or meshing, especially with friends, family members, or other sympathetic folks.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

belonging belongings

That improvement persuaded L.A.'s Natural History Museum to provide tiny portions of two teeth belonging to Thomas the T. rex, the most complete of the towering tyrannosaur skeletons displayed in the museum's dinosaur hall.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

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

But by making strides in integrating agency, belonging and cause into your life, you pave the way for a smooth transition.

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

Just seeing him has filled me with a sense of finally belonging to this place.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Monday's auction is a chance to acquire everyday objects that were once her intimate belongings.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

Hart began to suspect Haddish was experiencing homelessness when he noticed that her car was filled with personal belongings.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

I grabbed my belongings and headed up those 223 — or maybe 225 — stairs one last time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Lawyers on Wednesday discussed when John Overdeck could retrieve belongings from the couple’s Short Hills, N.J. home, where Laura Overdeck still lives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

In the spring of 1685, Maria put most of her belongings in storage, renounced the world—including her increasingly distant husband—and bumped over rutted roads to the flat, open moors of Friesland in the northern Netherlands.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman