belonging
American
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of belonging
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
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:
Her ex-fiancé feared that the same person would continue to “misappropriate” items belonging to the actor’s estate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
What Yank is ultimately searching for is a universal human need—that sense of belonging.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
A drone caused a fire at a data centre belonging to Russian technology company Yandex, the company told AFP Thursday, in the first such strike of its kind on Russia.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Archaeologists from La Trobe University have described 18 newly published hominin fossils from South Africa, including a second skull fragment belonging to Homo erectus.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
They were the family’s own gods, belonging only to it, really the most important part of it, the protectors and defenders of the entire household.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
The Libyan authorities handed over a plastic "trash bag" containing some of his belongings, including a Quran, a prayer rug, clothing, toiletries, and medicine.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
To find customers for those belongings, check out Facebook Marketplace and your area’s Nextdoor community.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
The all-clear sounds at 2:27 a.m., and people along the platform begin to pack up their belongings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
She told detectives she left the puppy at a park because it had been annoying her boyfriend by biting on his shoes and belongings, according to department spokesperson Natalie Garcia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Margaret was instructed to carry Madame’s small bundle of belongings upstairs and turn down the bed.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
