CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Oct. 01, 2023	Oct. 02, 2022	Oct. 01, 2023	Oct. 02, 2022
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 626,807	$ 670,491	$ 1,960,841	$ 1,947,413
Cost of sales	(385,639)	(431,845)	(1,212,240)	(1,277,602)
Gross profit	241,168	238,646	748,601	669,811
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(118,079)	(110,478)	(366,288)	(318,747)
Research and development expenses	(30,190)	(26,306)	(90,544)	(75,751)
Amortization of intangibles	(9,526)	(10,105)	(30,262)	(28,099)
Gain on sale of assets	12,056	37,891	12,056	37,891
Operating income	95,429	129,648	273,563	285,105
Interest expense, net	(8,580)	(9,883)	(25,593)	(35,570)
Non-operating pension benefit	328	26	1,462	2,296
Loss on debt extinguishment	0	0	0	(6,392)
Income from continuing operations before taxes	87,177	119,791	249,432	245,439
Income tax expense	(14,850)	(16,104)	(45,385)	(39,014)
Income from continuing operations	72,327	103,687	204,047	206,425
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax	0	0	0	(3,685)
Loss on disposal of discontinued operations, net of tax	0	(5,366)	0	(9,933)
Net income	72,327	98,321	204,047	192,807
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest	(20)	27	(245)	111
Net income attributable to Belden stockholders	$ 72,347	$ 98,294	$ 204,292	$ 192,696
Weighted average number of common shares and equivalents:
Basic (in shares)	42,053	43,466	42,460	44,181
Diluted (in shares)	42,625	44,063	43,129	44,810
Basic income (loss) per share attributable to Belden stockholders:
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ 1.72	$ 2.38	$ 4.81	$ 4.67
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0	0	0	(0.08)
Disposal of discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0	(0.12)	0	(0.22)
Net income (in dollars per share)	1.72	2.26	4.81	4.36
Diluted income (loss) per share attributable to Belden stockholders:
Continuing operation (in dollars per share)	1.70	2.35	4.74	4.60
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0	0	0	(0.08)
Disposal of discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0	(0.12)	0	(0.22)
Net income (in dollars per share)	$ 1.70	$ 2.23	$ 4.74	$ 4.30
Comprehensive income attributable to Belden	$ 93,915	$ 149,907	$ 203,697	$ 300,388
Common stock dividends declared per share (in usd per share)	$ 0.05	$ 0.05	$ 0.15	$ 0.15