belong
verb
Simple meaning
Be a part or adjunct.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
bihlawngSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
bɪˈlɔŋ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
followed by to
Be a part or adjunct
“The uniform looks like it belonged to a museum collection.”
intransitive
To have its proper place.
followed by to
To be a part of a group.
of a person
To be accepted in a group.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Be a part or adjunct
Used this way, belong is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The uniform looks like it belonged to a museum collection.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “belong to …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: belong to …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use belong
- “The whales belong among the mammals.”verb
- “This book belongs to me.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: be a part or adjunct
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.