belonging

American  

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

noun

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

• unbelonging
  adjective

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

Ferrer later learns of another half-brother, her father’s son; these fraught relationships are the pillars of a gorgeous meditation on belonging.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

The U.S. is spending hundreds of millions on a domestic surveillance system with data belonging to more than 300 million people, including citizens, for immigration enforcement.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

Among them were small, rodent-like mammals belonging to the genus Cimolodon.

From Science Daily • Apr. 27, 2026

He's an unlikely music sensation, whose rootsy songs of restlessness and belonging captured TikTok's Gen Z romantics.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

He combs through his rooms, removing every personal belonging from the space.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern