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.

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belonging British  

/ bɪˈlɒŋɪŋ /

noun

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

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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

To qualify an initiative for the ballot, the initiative’s proponent is “required to collect and submit a large number of signatures belonging to to registered voters who supported the measure.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

In the new study, published in Science Advances, the Griffith researchers examined exceptionally rare skeletal remains belonging to two early human foragers from Sulawesi, Indonesia.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

Three vehicles belonging to people working on the mountain were partially buried Wednesday, as powerful gusts and torrential rain battered the popular hiking destination, a local official told AFP.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Aerial footage shows a massive sinkhole in front of a house in Malibu, California, reportedly belonging to US actor Nicolas Cage.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Faint though it was, Taran recognized it as belonging to the bard.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

It is entirely the choice of an individual as to whether it is worth insuring belongings while off at university or college.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 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

It is commonly said that he built a steam-powered boat on to which he loaded all his belongings.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton