belong

all your base are belong to us

A humorous declaration of victory. The phrase comes from a poor Japanese-to-English translation in the 1992 video game Zero Wing, which was then used as an Internet meme from the early 2000s. Ha-ha, we win again! All your base are belong to us!
See also: all, base, belong

belong to (someone or something)

1. To be a member of something, such as a team or club. My daughter belongs to the debate team at school. I belong to the gym on Main Street if you ever want to come work out with me.
2. To be someone's possession. No, that coat belongs to Rachel—mine has a hood. Who do these headphones belong to?
See also: belong

belong under (something)

To be properly categorized under a certain status, heading, or title. When you files these documents, they belong under "July 2008." What heading does that paragraph belong under? That department always belonged under the CFO, they're just making it official now.
See also: belong

to the victor belong the spoils

proverb The winner is entitled to all of the rewards, bonuses, or benefits of success. (A variation of "to the victor go the spoils.") John won the betting pool, so he gets the whole pot of money from those who paid in. To the victor belong the spoils! A lot of other contestants on the singing competition are well worthy of signing a record deal, but to the victor belong the spoils.
See also: belong, spoil, victor
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

belong to someone or something

to be owned by someone or something. This one belongs to me. This desk belongs to the company. You can't take it home!
See also: belong

belong under something

to be classified under some general category. This one belongs under the other category. This file belongs under A.
See also: belong

To the victors belong the spoils.

Prov. The winners achieve power over people and property. The mayor took office and immediately fired many workers and hired new ones. Everyone said, "To the victors belong the spoils."
See also: belong, spoil, victor
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

to the victor belong the spoils

The winner gets everything, as in He not only won the tournament but ended up with numerous lucrative endorsements-to the victor belong the spoils . This expression alludes to the spoils system of American politics, whereby the winner of an election gives desirable jobs to party supporters. [First half of 1800s]
See also: belong, spoil, victor
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

to the victor belong the spoils

Winner gets all. The Roman historians frequently mentioned spolia optima—very best spoils—which actually referred to the personal spoils of the enemy’s general when slain by the opposing commander. The current cliché became popular long after that and was frequently used in connection with the spoils system in American politics (whereby the winning party gives desirable posts to its supporters) by Senators William Marcy (1832), Huey Long (1934), and others. Justice William J. Brennan used it in writing the 1990 U.S. Supreme Court decision against political patronage: “To the victor belong only those spoils that may be constitutionally obtained” (Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois, 88-1872).
See also: belong, spoil, victor
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • no fox given
  • (Don't ask me,) I just work here.
  • (Don't ask me,) I only work here.
  • checks notes
  • GMTA
  • my face when
  • my reaction when
  • my body is ready
  • it me
  • return to (one's) muttons
References in classic literature
No student can belong to it who cannot show three full generations of noble descent.
I got some of this information from students themselves-- students who did not belong to the corps.
However, in the mean time it had transpired that the men employed to calk the raft had found that the leak was not a leak at all, but only a crack between the logs--a crack that belonged there, and was not dangerous, but had been magnified into a leak by the disordered imagination of the mate.
Tramp Abroad
That is, all except the boy, who belongs to old Mombi and must be restored to her keeping.
The Marvelous Land of Oz
And not everyone is good-willed: "If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you do not belong to the world, ...
Blessed are the peacemakers
We know that when the children were in third grade, they responded to a questionnaire that assessed how much they felt themselves to be a part of the life of the school--a measure of school belongingness ("belong").
Using correlational and prediction data to enhance student achievement in K-12 schools: a practical application for school counselors
Johnson: "One of the most important things the black artist has to learn early on is how to belong to black people."
Of logos and expos
Mark Thomsen reflects on an African proverb: To be or to be human is to belong. Western society, by contrast, often focuses on thinking or doing to claim its identity.
Marburg Revisited: more essays in honor of Albert (Pete) Pero
Our only certitudes are those that belong to the whirl of the world and the flux of time.
The absence of a culture of shame
Whenever I'm speaking, in schools, I always say to the students, "The future will not belong to those who are content with the present.
History is a dance of life
The time has come to establish the principle that children belong to the Republic before they belong to their parents.
Worth repeating
Then there's the President's Room, where you have to be a company president to belong. On any given day, we'll have the presidents of US Steel, PPG and Mellon, who come and go to this room just like the Carnegies and Fricks used to."
Does the club still matter? Yes. no. maybe, admit many CEOs who complain about bad food and stuffy atmosphere--but they still belong. (Disposable Income)
"These seniors will be in an atmosphere with other people like them, who have the same beliefs, the same way of life--that's the main concept behind this," says Lederberg, adding that gay seniors who have attended other day centers said they felt "very uncomfortable, like they didn't belong at all."
Care without judgment: Fla. day center will focus on gay seniors. (Newsfronts)
The court further concluded that because the company's primary business activity was the transportation of natural gas (not gas processing), its assets belong either in asset class 46.0 or asset class 00.3 (land improvement); "the most important issue in resolving this dispute is determining for what the system operator is paid.
District court disagrees on depreciation recovery period for gathering system
Although some say "Clients or customers belong to the employer and not the employee, and the employer shall be the sole arbiter of work assignments and work quality," such provisions may not be binding in some states.
Avoid taxes in liquidation