belonged

past tense of belong
1
as in stayed
to have or be in a usual or proper place your shoes belong in the closet, not in the middle of the living room where people will trip on them

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in pertained
to be the property of a person or group of persons those textbooks belong to the school system and not to the students

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of belonged Stunted palm trees that belonged elsewhere, a distance too great to name. Sofía Pereda, USA Today, 13 Oct. 2025 The first drive of the second half belonged mostly to Wisner, who picked up 43 yards on six touches to get the Longhorns in the red zone for their go-ahead score. Sam Khan Jr, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025 In March, hundreds of people were killed during a crackdown on the Alawite sect – to which Assad belonged – in the western city of Latakia, and in April, clashes broke out between pro-government armed forces and Druze militias. Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2025 But over the last several years, the Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) category has belonged increasingly to stand-up comedy specials. Joe Reid, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2025 Levine Cava contends the helicopter budget has always belonged within the Fire Rescue department, which provides the pilots and maintains the choppers. Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2025 The Miami mayor scoffed that salami belonged on pizza (debatable). Carlos Frías, Bon Appetit Magazine, 19 Aug. 2025 The user—who claimed to be a diehard Doja fan—suggested that her work belonged outside of Hip-Hop’s critical discussions. Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 12 Aug. 2025 The streets belonged as much to students, feminists, merchants, liberals, and industrial workers as to clerics. Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for belonged
Verb
  • The fire broke out in June 2024 when Stephen Kuehl and his family stayed at a rental cabin in Juneau County.
    Steven Martinez, jsonline.com, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Venture capital performance may be measured in ten-year chunks, but only an elite club of firms can claim to have stayed consistent—let alone functional—for anywhere close to that timeframe.
    Leo Schwartz, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Nevertheless, the process exposed evidence that pertained to him.
    Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Chatbots are known to validate users’ obsessions and delusions, and most of the litigation around this phenomenon has so far pertained to self-harm, as in the suits Jain has brought against OpenAI and Character Technologies.
    Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Their opening eight possessions featured six punts, a turnover on downs at the end of their lone productive drive and an aborted drive that went backwards in the final 64 seconds of the first half.
    Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Bethune actually departed for one series for reasons that went unexplained, with Curtis Robinson taking over, but was back after a few plays as the defensive play-caller.
    Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Police who were involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave, following department policy.
    Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 20 Oct. 2025
  • The Broncos got screwed on an interference call that placed the ball on the 1-yard line.
    Troy Renck, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Belonged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belonged. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.

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