What does "erect" mean?
To put up by the fitting together of materials or parts.
Erect
/ɪˈɹɛkt/ adj, verb
adj, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To put up by the fitting together of materials or parts.
- Grammar: erect is listed as adj, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: aggrandize, assemble, assemble, blameless.
- Useful contrasts: flaccid, accumbent, cernuous.
- Usage evidence: Nobody intends to erect a wall.
How to use "erect"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "erect" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "erect" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "erect" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "erect" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "erect" is acting as adj, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "aggrandize" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "erect", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To put up by the fitting together of materials or parts. transitive
"to erect a house or a fort"
- 2 construct, build, or erect wordnet
- 3 To cause to stand up or out. transitive
- 4 cause to rise up wordnet
- 5 To raise and place in an upright or perpendicular position; to set upright; to raise.
"to erect a pole, a flagstaff, a monument, etc."
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 To raise and place in an upright or perpendicular position; to set upright; to raise.; To spin up and align to vertical. intransitive
"As soon as electrical power was restored, the attitude indicators' gyros would have begun to erect."
- 7 To lift up; to elevate; to exalt; to magnify. transitive
"that didst his state above his hopes erect"
- 8 To animate; to encourage; to cheer. transitive
"It raiseth the dropping spirit, erecting it to a loving complaisance."
- 9 To cast or draw up (a figure of the heavens, horoscope etc.). transitive
"In 1581 Parliament made it a statutory felony to erect figures, cast nativities, or calculate by prophecy how long the Queen would live or who would succeed her."
- 10 To enter a state of physiological erection. intransitive
"On the 17th of July, the patient returned to the country, perfectly healed: the penis erected and he was capable of coition."
- 11 To set up as an assertion or consequence from premises, etc. transitive
"from fallacious foundations, and misapprehended mediums, erecting conclusions no way inferrible from their premises"
- 12 To set up or establish; to found; to form; to institute. transitive
"to erect a new commonwealth"
Adjective
- 1 Upright; vertical or reaching broadly upwards.
"Among the Greek colonies and churches of Asia, Philadelphia is still erect—a column in a scene of ruins."
- 2 Rigid, firm; standing out perpendicularly, especially as the result of stimulation.
"The penis should be fully erect before commencing copulation."
- 3 Having an erect penis or clitoris.
"OK, baby, I'm erect now. Let's get it on!"
- 4 Bold; confident; free from depression; undismayed. obsolete
"But who is he, by years / Bowed, but erect in heart?"
- 5 Directed upward; raised; uplifted. obsolete
"His piercing Eyes, erect, appear to vievv / Superior VVorlds, and look all Nature thro'."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Watchful; alert.
"vigilant and erect attention of mind"
- 7 Elevated, as the tips of wings, heads of serpents, etc.
Adjective
- 1 of sexual organs; stiff and rigid wordnet
- 2 upright in position or posture wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Nobody intends to erect a wall."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "erect"?
Common synonyms include: aggrandize, assemble, assemble, blameless, bolt, bolt upright.
How do you use "erect" in a sentence?
Nobody intends to erect a wall.
How do you pronounce "erect"?
Pronounced /ɪˈɹɛkt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English erect, a borrowing from Latin ērectus (“upright”), past participle of ērigō (“raise, set up”), from ē- (“out”) + regō (“to direct, keep straight, guide”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English erecten, from the adjective (see above).