Adjacent Words

Belong definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BELONG', v.i.
1. To be the property of; as, a field belongs to Richard Roe; Jamaica belongs to G.Britain.
2. To be the concern or proper business of; to appertain; as, it belongs to John Doe to prove his title.
3. To be appendant to.
He went into a desert place belonging to Bethsaida. Luke 9.
4. To be a part of, or connected with, though detached in place; as, a beam or rafter belongs to such a frame, or to such a place in the building.
5. To have relation to.
And David said, to whom belongest thou? 1.Sam.30.
6. To be the quality or attribute of.
To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness. Daniel 9.
7. To be suitable for.
Strong meat belongeth to them of full age. Hebrews 5.
8. To relate to, or be referred to.
He careth for things that belong to the Lord. l Cor.7.
9. 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.
Bastards also are settled in the parishes to which the mothers belong. Hence,
10. To be the native of; to have original residence.
There is no other country in the world to which the Gipeys could belong.
11. In common language, to have a settled residence; to be domiciliated.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: be owned by; be in the possession of; "This book belongs to me"
2: be suitable or acceptable; "This student somehow doesn't belong"
3: be in the right place or situation; "Where do these books belong?"; "Let's put health care where it belongs--under the control of the government"; "Where do these books go?" [syn: belong, go]
4: be rightly classified in a class or category; "The whales belong among the mammals"
5: be a member, adherent, inhabitant, etc. (of a group, organization, or place); "They belong to the same political party"
6: be a part or adjunct; "the uniform looks like it belonged to a museum collection"; "These pages don't belong" [syn: belong to, belong]

Merriam Webster's

verb Etymology: Middle English belongen, from be- + longen to be suitable — more at long Date: 14th century intransitive verb 1. a. to be suitable, appropriate, or advantageous <a dictionary belongs in every home> b. to be in a proper situation <a man of his ability belongs in teaching> 2. a. to be the property of a person or thing — used with to <the book belongs to me> b. to be attached or bound by birth, allegiance, or dependency — usually used with to <they belong to their homeland> c. to be a member of a club, organization, or set — usually used with to <she belongs to a country club> 3. to be an attribute, part, adjunct, or function of a person or thing <nuts and bolts belong to a car> 4. to be properly classified verbal auxiliary chiefly Southern & southern Midland ought, must

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.intr. 1 (foll. by to) a be the property of. b be rightly assigned to as a duty, right, part, member, characteristic, etc. c be a member of (a club, family, group, etc.). 2 have the right personal or social qualities to be a member of a particular group (he's nice but just doesn't belong); (foll. by in, under). a be rightly placed or classified. b fit a particular environment. Derivatives: belongingness n. Etymology: ME f. intensive BE- + longen belong f. OE langian (gelang at hand)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Belong Be*long", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Belonged; p. pr. & vb. n. Belonging.] [OE. belongen (akin to D. belangen to concern, G. belangen to attain to, to concern); pref. be- + longen to desire. See Long, v. i.] Note: [Usually construed with to.] 1. To be the property of; as, Jamaica belongs to Great Britain. 2. To be a part of, or connected with; to be appendant or related; to owe allegiance or service. A desert place belonging to . . . Bethsaids. --Luke ix. 10. The mighty men which belonged to David. --1 Kings i. 8. 3. To be the concern or proper business or function of; to appertain to. ``Do not interpretations belong to God ?'' --Gen. xl. 8. 4. To be suitable for; to be due to. Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age. --Heb. v. 14. No blame belongs to thee. --Shak. 5. To be native to, or an inhabitant of; 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. Bastards also are settled in the parishes to which the mothers belong. --Blackstone.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Belong Be*long", v. t. To be deserved by. [Obs.] More evils belong us than happen to us. --B. Jonson.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(belongs, belonging, belonged) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If something belongs to you, you own it. The house had belonged to her family for three or four generations. VERB: no cont, V to n 2. 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: no cont, V to n 3. If someone belongs to a particular group, they are a member of that group. I used to belong to a youth club. VERB: no cont, V to n 4. 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... VERB: no cont, V in/to n 5. 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: no cont, V to n 6. If you say that something belongs to someone, you mean that person has the right to it. ...but the last word belonged to Rosanne. VERB: no cont, V to n 7. 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: no cont, V to n 8. If a baby or child belongs to a particular adult, that adult is his or her parent or the person who is looking after him or her. He deduced that the two children belonged to the couple. VERB: no cont, V to n 9. When lovers say that they belong together, they are expressing their closeness or commitment to each other. I really think that we belong together... He belongs with me. V-RECIP: no cont, V together, V with n 10. If a person or thing belongs in a particular place or situation, that is where they should be. You don't belong here... I'm so glad to see you back where you belong... They need to feel they belong. VERB: no cont, V adv/prep, V adv/prep, V • belonging ...a man utterly without a sense of belonging.

Moby Thesaurus

accord, affect, agree, answer to, appertain, appertain to, apply to, be a member, be inscribed, be there, bear on, bear upon, become, befit, belong to, carry a card, chime, concern, connect, correspond, correspond to, deal with, fit, fit in, go, harmonize, have connection with, have its place, have place, hold membership, indwell, inhere, interest, involve, liaise with, link with, match, pertain, pertain to, refer to, regard, relate to, respect, set, subscribe, suit, tally, tie in with, touch, touch upon, treat of, vest, vest in