belonging
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the comfortable feeling that you are part of a group and that people accept you.
n.a sense of social or emotional affinity with a particular group, place, or community. Uncountable in this sense.
Simple“After a few months in the new city, she finally felt a sense of belonging.”
In context“The school's mentorship programme is designed to foster a sense of belonging among international students who might otherwise feel isolated.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 B1 Intermediate
n.the things that you own and can carry with you, like clothes or bags.
n.personal items or possessions that one owns. Almost exclusively used in the plural form.
Simple“Please make sure you take all your belongings with you when you leave the train.”
In context“The refugees were forced to flee their homes with only the few personal belongings they could carry in their arms.”
PitfallI packed all my belonging into the suitcase. I packed all my belongings into the suitcase.When referring to your things, this word must be plural: 'belongings'.
Synonyms - 03 B1 Intermediate
v.the -ing form of the verb 'belong', used to describe where someone or something should be.
v.the present participle or gerund of 'belong', indicating a state of being correctly placed, classified, or owned.
Simple“He found a stray cat belonging to the family next door.”
In context“The curator spent years researching the provenance of the painting, eventually proving it was a work belonging to the Dutch Golden Age.”
Synonyms
From belong + -ing.
From Middle English belonginge, belanging, belangand, equivalent to belong + -ing.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.