belong to
phrasal verb
belonged to; belonging to; belongs to
1
: to be the property of (someone) : to be owned by
The money belongs to him.
The house belongs not just to her, but to her husband as well.
His style belongs only to himself.
2
: to be a member of (a club, organization, etc.)
The family belongs to a country club.
Most of the company's employees belong to an HMO.
3
: to be included in (a category, group, etc.)
What family does that bird belong to?
4
: to be a part of (something)
the parts belonging to the clock
Examples of belong to in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Messages left at a phone number believed to belong to him were not returned.
—
Tim Stelloh, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2025
In July, the company’s 42kW/kg record nearly doubled the previous mark believed to belong to Evolito’s 28kW/kg D250 motor.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
Peru and Colombia have argued over who the island belongs to for decades.
—Isa Cardona, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
Some suspect that the idea proposed by Maslov and Shpinel really belonged to their professor, Fritz Lange, but was signed by Maslov because, as a member of the Communist Party, he was trusted by the authorities more than the unreliable German émigré.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for belong to
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Tim Stelloh, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2025
In July, the company’s 42kW/kg record nearly doubled the previous mark believed to belong to Evolito’s 28kW/kg D250 motor.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
Peru and Colombia have argued over who the island belongs to for decades.
—Isa Cardona, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
Some suspect that the idea proposed by Maslov and Shpinel really belonged to their professor, Fritz Lange, but was signed by Maslov because, as a member of the Communist Party, he was trusted by the authorities more than the unreliable German émigré.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for belong to
Cite this Entry
“Belong to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/belong%20to. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share