belonged

verb

past tense of belong
1
as in went
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 For decades, the idea of a robot working inside an operating room belonged more to science fiction than medicine. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026 Corporate purpose has always belonged—and still belongs—across the political divide. — Scott M. Curran, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026 Once the financing dictated the sale, the investment horizon no longer belonged entirely to the investor. — Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026 The second half belonged entirely to Nashville, which exposed Miami’s disorganized defense. — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026 By then, the question of whether Arendt belonged chiefly to German or American intellectual life mattered less than the interplay in her soul between the two. — David Denby, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026 The March filing asks a federal judge to send the lawsuit back to Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, arguing that the case never belonged in federal court. — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026 Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party to which Widdecombe belonged, said staff had searched party emails to check for patterns of abuse directed at her, but had not found anything. — Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026 Messi beat Balenziaga twice, as well as three other Athletic players, during a crazy dribble that belonged in a school playground, not a cup final. — Charlotte Harpur, New York Times, 10 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for belonged
  1. went
  2. pertained
  3. stayed
  4. placed
Verb
  • The Sox went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left 14 on base while falling in the opener of the four-game series.
    — LaMond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Other questions still linger, including where Lahti’s car went.
    — Taylor Romine, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of went
Verb
  • The district has not confirmed nor denied previous reporting from WSOC-TV that the investigation pertained to contracts with some of Hill’s former colleagues.
    — Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Both pertained to the same player in a way that had some believing there could be an easy out to fill out a Heat roster thinned by the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of pertained
Verb
  • Even if El Niño’s temperature swings stayed exactly the same magnitude, its floods and droughts would still get worse in a warmer world because the hotter atmosphere holds more water vapor.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Another favorite is the Gritti Palace, where everyone from Brad Pitt to Elizabeth Taylor has stayed.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of stayed
Verb
  • Few have placed bigger bets than Blackstone on the AI revolution, which demands massive funding for large language models and the data centers and energy infrastructure that power them.
    — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The illusion of molten steel was basically water and mineral oil mixed with a little powdered sugar; creative lighting and heaters placed below the cameras—plus a few CGI sparks in the background—did the rest.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of placed

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Cite this Entry

“Belonged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belonged. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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