Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To be proper, appropriate, or suitable: A napkin belongs at every place setting.
- v. To be in an appropriate situation or environment: That plant belongs outdoors.
- v. To be a member of a group, such as a club.
- v. To fit into a group naturally: No matter what I did, I just didn't belong.
- v. To have in one's possession. Often used with to: "The earth belongs to the living” ( Thomas Jefferson).
- v. To be a part of something else: These blades belong to the food processor.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To go along with anything, or accompany it as an adjunct or attribute; pertain; appertain; be a property (of); be in the power or at the disposal (of).
- To be the concern or proper business (of); appertain (to): as, it belongs to John Doe to prove the title.
- To be appendant (to); be connected (with); be a special relation (to): as, a beam or rafter belongs to such a frame, or to such a place in the building.
- To be suitable; be due.
- To have a settled residence (in); be domiciled (in); specifically, have a legal residence, settlement, or inhabitancy (in), whether by birth or operation of law, so as to be chargeable upon the parish or town: said of a pauper, or one likely to become such.
- To be a native (of); have original residence (in).
- To have its (or one's) proper place; be resident: as, this book belongs on the top shelf; I belong here (in this house or town).
Wiktionary
- v. To have its proper place.
- v. To be accepted in a group.
- v. To be a part of a group.
- v. To be the property of.
- v. To be the spouse or partner of.
- v. (followed by to) To be an element of (a set). The symbol \in means belongs to.
- prep. of, belonging to.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To be the property
of . - v. To be a part
of , or connectedwith ; to be appendant or related; to owe allegiance or service. - v. To be the concern or proper business or function
of ; to appertainto . - v. To be suitable
for ; to be dueto . - v. To be native
to , or an inhabitantof ; esp. to have a legal residence, settlement, or inhabitancy, whether by birth or operation of law, so as to be entitled to maintenance by the parish or town. - v. To be deserved by.
WordNet 3.0
- v. be a part or adjunct
- v. be suitable or acceptable
- v. be owned by; be in the possession of
- v. be in the right place or situation
- v. be a member, adherent, inhabitant, etc. (of a group, organization, or place)
- v. be rightly classified in a class or category
Etymologies
- Middle English bilongen : probably bi-, be- + longen, to belong (probably from long, dependent, from Old English gelang, along, depending; see del-1 in Indo-European roots).
Examples
“The former _stand for_ nouns, and never belong to them; the latter _belong to_ nouns, and never stand for them.”
“Council, that all vessels under a neutral or friendly flag, being neutral or friendly property, shall be permitted to import into any port or place in Her Majesty's dominions all goods and merchandize whatsoever, to whomsoever the same may belong, [217] and to export from any port or place in her Majesty's dominions to any port not blockaded, any cargo or goods, not being contraband of war, or not requiring a special permission, to _whomsoever the same may belong_.”
“And now," said he, "as you belong to the church of Christ, so your children, in a certain sense, and that a very important and precious sense, _belong_ to the church.”
“But the design of the ones to which I belong is not mine.”
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“Please those country bumkins and palin belong together, let her go let her speak my question is how in the heck can anyone stand the sound of her annoying voice for any lenght of time.”
“We also know that about 20% of the American electorate, the stupidest 20% to which out pet trolls belong, is stupid enough to vote for this moron.”
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“Bay Area cats and dogs that converse in English belong to two underground intelligence organisations dedicated to protecting their human masters.”
“I look at the heroic Downs with a gasp of joy every day and the sense of a place where you can belong is palpable.”
“The passengers the coins belong to are well ahead.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘belong’.
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[Open] Stative Verbs
Definition Many of these can also be dynamic.
Please just list bare infinitives to keep the list wieldy. Perhaps a tag (e.g., “stative”) would be sufficient for participles.)act, amaze, appear, appreciate, astonish, become, believe, belong, cost, feel, get, hate and 53 more...

bilby
A little mountain spring I found
That fell into a pool;
I made my hands into a cup
And caught the sparkling water up -
It tasted fresh and cool.
A solemn little frog I spied
Upon the rocky brim;
He looked so boldly in my face,
I'm certain that he thought the place
Belonged by rights to him.
- Rose Fyleman, 'The Spring'. Nov 8, 2008