From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbelongbe‧long /bɪˈlɒŋ $ bɪˈlɒːŋ/ ●●● S2 W2 verb [intransitive] 1 [always + adverb/preposition]PLACE if something belongs somewhere, that is the right place or situation for it Put the chair back where it belongs.belong in an attitude that doesn’t belong in modern society2 DIFFERENTif you feel you belong in a place or situation, you feel happy and comfortable in it, because you have the same interests and ideas as other people I worked there for five years but never really felt I belonged. —belonging noun [uncountable] It’s important to have a sense of belonging (=a feeling that you are happy and comfortable somewhere). → belong to somebody/somethingGRAMMAR: Using the progressiveBelong is not used in the progressive. You say: My friend belongs to the choir. ✗Don’t say: My friend is belonging to the choir. → See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
belong• Can you put that back where it belongs?• Could it be that some of us might like it better if they stayed where they belong?• Toussaint had no toys and never asked to play with those belonging to others.• As if we were all adopted, no one belonged anywhere.• I felt I belonged there - I was important there.• I belonged to the local farmers' club and had taken up curling.• Over 8,000 people regularly enjoy the benefits of Medau classes - but - only 25% of them belong to the Medau Society.• Clearly the appeal of the Virgo archetype belonged to the spirit of the age.• The mosque and the Koran belong to women as much as do the heavenly bodies.belong in• I taught in high schools, but I really belonged in the elementary schools.• The shopping center doesn't belong in the middle of a residential neighborhood.sense of belonging• Membership of a group may provide an individual with a sense of belonging.• These systems gave people an identity a place, and a sense of belonging.• In particular, it is not clear how a sense of well-being and a sense of belonging are connected.• These structures provide not just a sense of belonging but a social life that would be the envy of many Westerners.• Then the needs for affection and a sense of belonging can be fulfilled.• This sense of belonging is even stronger in Appenzell itself.• It became a meditation on that sense of belonging, of identity, of alienation and how important all of that is.• All that is necessarily involved is a sense of belonging that excludes indifference to the group as well as alienation from it.Origin belong (1300-1400) long “to be suitable” ((12-19 centuries)), from Old English gelang “dependent on” 