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 determine when the ability developed and how it changed over time, the team retraced lactoferrin's evolutionary history and reconstructed versions belonging to its extinct ancestors.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026

Some favor academic rigor; others cultural belonging, diversity, discipline, language, religion or the arts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

That wisdom becomes less funny the farther you stand from whatever a workplace has already decided looks like belonging.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

For example, he blames cuts in youth services over the past decade or so for leading to fewer places for young people to go and mix and develop a sense of belonging.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

“One day,” Nhamo said when she had recovered, “a hen belonging to the junior wife wandered into the senior wife’s hut and broke three pots. ‘

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

She returned when Ross was not home to gather her belongings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 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

Pedestrians in plastic rain ponchos trudged through murky floodwaters in Bangkok's east -- knee-deep in some areas of a grocery store parking lot -- floating their belongings in plastic tubs alongside them, AFP journalists saw.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

While speaking to The Cut in 2025, Ortega recalled going through belongings at the property when she discovered an old toothbrush that had belonged to an ex.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

“No? Then gather your belongings and come with me.”

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron