erect

American  

[ih-rekt] / ɪˈrɛkt /

adjective

1. upright in position or posture.

   to stand or sit erect.

   Synonyms:

   vertical, standing

2. raised or directed upward.

   a dog with ears erect.

3. Botany. vertical throughout; not spreading or declined.

   an erect stem;

   an erect leaf or ovule.

4. Heraldry.

   1. (of a charge) represented vertically, following the line of a pale.

      a sword erect.

   2. (of an animal or part of an animal) represented upright.

      a boar's head erect.

5. Optics. (of an image) having the same position as the object; not inverted.

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verb (used with object)

• erects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• erected,
  past participle,  past
• erecting
  present participle

1. to build; construct; raise.

   to erect a house.

   Synonyms:

   upraise, upend, set up, put up

2. to raise and set in an upright or vertical position.

   to erect a telegraph pole.

3. to set up or establish, as an institution; found.

4. to bring about; cause to come into existence.

   to erect barriers to progress.

5. Geometry. to draw or construct (a line or figure) upon a given line, base, or the like.

6. to form or create legally (usually followed byinto ).

   to erect a territory into a state.

7. Optics. to change (an inverted image) to the normal position.

8. Machinery. to assemble; make ready for use.

verb (used without object)

• erects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• erected,
  past participle,  past
• erecting
  present participle

1. to become erect; stand up or out.

erect British  

/ ɪˈrɛkt /

adjective

1. upright in posture or position; not bent or leaning

   an erect stance

2. (of an optical image) having the same orientation as the object; not inverted

3. physiol (of the penis, clitoris, or nipples) firm or rigid after swelling with blood, esp as a result of sexual excitement

4. (of plant parts) growing vertically or at right angles to the parts from which they arise

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verb

1. to put up; construct; build

2. to raise to an upright position; lift up

   to erect a flagpole

3. to found or form; set up

4. (also intr) physiol to become or cause to become firm or rigid by filling with blood

5. to hold up as an ideal; exalt

6. optics to change (an inverted image) to an upright position

7. to draw or construct (a line, figure, etc) on a given line or figure, esp at right angles to it

Synonym Usage

See upright.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• erectness
  noun
• semierectness
  noun
• suberectness
  noun
• preerect
  verb (used with object)
• reerect
  verb (used with object)
• erectable
  adjective
• nonerecting
  adjective
• semierect
  adjective
• suberect
  adjective
• unerect
  adjective
• erectly
  adverb
• semierectly
  adverb
• suberectly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• erecting
  present
• erected
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• erect
  simple
• erects
  simple
• have erected
  perfect
• has erected
  perfect
• am erecting
  progressive
• are erecting
  progressive
• is erecting
  progressive
• have been erecting
  perfect progressive
• has been erecting
  perfect progressive

Past

• erected
  simple
• had erected
  perfect
• was erecting
  progressive
• were erecting
  progressive
• had been erecting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will erect
  simple
• will have erected
  perfect
• will be erecting
  progressive
• will have been erecting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of erect

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin ērēctus “raised up” (past participle of ērigere ), equivalent to ē- e- ¹ + reg- “guide, direct” ( see royal) + -tus past participle suffix

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Explanation

Erect means "build" or "upright." If you erect a house, you build it. If you stand erect, you hold your body as tall as possible. Erect comes from the Latin word erectus, meaning “upright, elevated, lofty” or “eager, alert, aroused.” Erect is a verb, as in, it will take you years to erect your replica of the Eiffel Tower using only gum and toothpicks. Erect is also an adjective, as in something that is tall, firm, straight or rigid, like a half-dead plant that becomes more erect when you water it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

erect erects erected erecting

Other workers erect scaffolding for a four-story structure where they will assemble, piece by piece, the giant replica of the pope.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

The council has acknowledged it was "unreasonable" to erect the original green fence at the heart of the dispute, adding it had "apologised for any distress caused".

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Federal law requires express congressional authority to erect a building or structure on federal parks and public grounds in Washington.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to block the ballroom, arguing that the president lacks authority to erect new buildings on government property.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

His voice was strong and it rang through the church with a power that brought every head erect.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

The act erects massive barriers to entry to the market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

If the franchise ever erects statues in Exposition Park, the first will be made in his image.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2023

PHOTOS: Finland erects barriers at border with Russia to control influx of migrants.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 22, 2023

This issue is the AI alignment problem, and it’s another source of uncertainty that erects barriers to trust.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 3, 2023

A race builds itself for a million years, refines itself, erects cities like those out there, does everything it can to give itself respect and beauty, and then it dies.

From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury

Along the boundary with China, Kim's government has erected fences and installed cameras as well as strips of sand that preserve the footprints of anyone who crosses.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

Around that time, an office prankster briefly erected a life-size cardboard cutout of imprisoned crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried—a joke partly about how similar Coplan, a fellow crypto billionaire, is in appearance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Near the mouth of a river, in Powhatan territory, the colonists erected a cross and proclaimed England’s King James I the rightful owner of the place, which they called Jamestown.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

The Grade II-listed statue was erected as a national memorial in 1880 after receiving special permission from Queen Victoria.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

When the diagnosis was confirmed, he was forcibly quarantined in a hastily erected tent in a marsh along the Potomac River.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Ryan Bridge, 45, of Blackwell, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, has been erecting flags in the Midlands and the south of England since last summer as part of Raise the Colours.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

In 2021, Tennessee lawmakers proposed erecting a statue of Parton on the grounds of the state Capitol.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

It’s been a long road from that pivotal New Mexican trial to this hilarious cartoon version, with corporations erecting bigger and bigger speed bumps.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Advocacy groups and experts say that by erecting turbines without a permit or any public consultation, SpaceXAI has disregarded existing legislation such as the Clean Air Act.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Burnham ordered his key contractors—including Agnew & Co., erecting the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building—to stop work immediately.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

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Related Words

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