belong
belong
(bɪlɒŋ , US -lɔːŋ )Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense belongs , present participle belonging , past tense, past participle belonged
1. verb [no cont]
If something belongs to you, you own it.
The house had belonged to her family for three or four generations. [VERB + to]
2. verb [no cont]
You say that something belongs to a particular person when you are guessing, discovering, or explaining that it was produced by or is part of that person.
The handwriting belongs to a male. [VERB + to]
They established that the body belonged to a 15-year-old girl. [VERB to noun]
3. verb [no cont]
If someone belongs to a particular group, they are a member of that group.
I used to belong to a youth club. [VERB + to]
4. verb [no cont]
If something or someone belongs in or to a particular category, type, or group, they are of that category, type, or group.
The judges could not decide which category it belonged in. [V + in/to]
I realized that he and I belonged to different worlds. [V in/to n]
5. verb [no cont]
If something belongs to a particular time, it comes from that time.
The pictures belong to an era when there was a preoccupation with high society. [VERB + to]
6. verb [no cont]
7. verb [no cont]
If you say that a time belongs to a particular system or way of doing something, you mean that that time is or will be characterized by it.
The future belongs to democracy. [VERB + to]
8. verb [no cont]
9. verb [no cont]
When lovers say that they belong together, they are expressing their closeness or commitment to each other.
I really think that we belong together. [V together]
He belongs with me. [VERB + with]
10. verb [no cont]
If a person or thing belongs in a particular place or situation, that is where they should be.
You don't belong here. [VERB adverb/preposition]
This piece really belongs in the concert hall. [VERB adverb/preposition]
I'm so glad to see you back where you belong. [VERB adverb/preposition]
They need to feel they belong. [VERB]
belonging uncountable noun
...a man utterly without a sense of belonging.
