belong
HighNeutral (used in all registers from formal to informal)
Definition
Meaning
To be the property of someone; to be a member or part of a group, set, or place.
To be in the right or suitable place or situation; to feel comfortable or accepted in a particular environment or relationship.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily denotes possession or membership. Can express a strong, intrinsic connection or feeling of acceptance and fitting in.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No major syntactic differences. Minor lexical preferences in collocations (e.g., 'belong to a club' vs. 'belong to an organization' are equal).
Connotations
Identical core connotations. The phrase 'feel you belong' is equally common in discussions of identity and community.
Frequency
Equally frequent in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[NP] belong to [NP][NP] belong in/on/with/under [NP/PP][NP] belong [AdvP (here/there)]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “belong to the ages”
- “to whom it may belong”
- “a sense of belonging”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Refers to asset ownership or departmental/team membership (e.g., 'The IP belongs to the company').
Academic
Used in classification, taxonomy, and discussions of social identity (e.g., 'The specimen belongs to the Cretaceous period').
Everyday
Most common for personal possessions, group membership, and feelings of fitting in (e.g., 'These keys belong to me').
Technical
In computing, refers to object-oriented programming (e.g., 'The method belongs to that class').
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- Does this brolly belong to anyone here?
- I feel I truly belong in the Lake District.
- Those traditions belong to a bygone era.
American English
- Does this umbrella belong to anyone here?
- I feel I truly belong in the Midwest.
- Those traditions belong to a bygone era.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- This pen belongs to Maria.
- I belong to a football club.
- Where does this plate belong?
- You don't belong in this dangerous area.
- The charger belongs with the laptop.
- She felt she didn't belong at the party.
- The painting rightly belongs in a national museum.
- Their shared history meant they belonged together.
- A sense of belonging is crucial for wellbeing.
- The concept of belonging transcends mere membership and speaks to identity.
- The manuscript is believed to belong to the early Carolingian period.
- He argued that the land ancestrally belonged to his people.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a SONG you love. You feel it BELONGs to you because it resonates. 'BE' + 'LONG' = to be for a long time/part of something.
Conceptual Metaphor
POSSESSION IS CONTAINMENT (to be in someone's possession), HARMONY IS BEING IN THE RIGHT PLACE (to belong somewhere).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating as 'занимать принадлежность'. Use 'принадлежать' for 'belong to', but note 'belong' often requires a preposition (to/in/with).
- Russian 'подходить' (to suit/fit) is not a direct synonym for 'belong' when referring to ownership.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'belong' without a required preposition (e.g., 'This book belongs me').
- Using 'belong' in progressive forms for permanent states (e.g., 'This is belonging to me' is unnatural).
Practice
Quiz
Which sentence uses 'belong' correctly?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, 'belong' is primarily stative, describing a state of ownership or membership, not an action. It is not usually used in continuous/progressive forms (e.g., 'is belonging').
'Belong to' indicates ownership or membership. 'Belong in/on/with' indicates the correct or appropriate place, group, or category for something.
Rarely and unnaturally. The active voice with 'belong to' is standard (e.g., 'The house belongs to him,' not 'The house is belonged to by him').
The related noun is 'belonging' (uncountable, e.g., 'a sense of belonging') or the plural 'belongings' (meaning 'personal possessions').