erect

[ih-rekt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR erect ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

upright in position or posture: to stand or sit erect.

raised or directed upward: a dog with ears erect.

Botany. vertical throughout; not spreading or declined: an erect stem; an erect leaf or ovule.

Heraldry.

(of a charge) represented palewise: a sword erect.
(of an animal or part of an animal) represented upright: a boar's head erect.

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

verb (used with object)

to build; construct; raise: to erect a house.

to raise and set in an upright or vertical position: to erect a telegraph pole.

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

to bring about; cause to come into existence: to erect barriers to progress.

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

to form or create legally (usually followed by into): to erect a territory into a state.

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

Machinery. to assemble; make ready for use.

verb (used without object)

to become erect; stand up or out.

Origin of erect

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

Related formse·rect·a·ble, adjectivee·rect·ly, adverbe·rect·ness, nounnon·e·rect·ing, adjectivepre·e·rect, verb (used with object)re·e·rect, verb (used with object)self-e·rect·ed, adjectivesem·i·e·rect, adjectivesem·i·e·rect·ly, adverbsem·i·e·rect·ness, nounsub·e·rect, adjectivesub·e·rect·ly, adverbsub·e·rect·ness, nounun·e·rect, adjectiveun·e·rect·ed, adjectivewell-e·rect·ed, adjective

Synonyms for erect

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR erect ON THESAURUS.COM

1. standing, vertical. See upright. 6. upraise.

Antonyms for erect

1. reclining.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for erected

raised, elevated, hoisted, reared, lifted, uplifted, completed, constructed

Examples from the Web for erected

Contemporary Examples of erected

Exactly one month after the first straw goat was erected in Gävle, it was mysteriously burned to a crisp.
Sweden’s Burning Christmas Goat
Nina Strochlic
December 25, 2014
Other buildings have since been erected and then torn down or sold.
Inside New York’s Scandal-Hit Seminary and Other ‘Open House’ Treats
Lizzie Crocker
October 10, 2014
The prohibition was erected for good reason: to prevent the religious wars that wracked Europe in the previous century.
The Tea Party Isn’t a Political Movement, It’s a Religious One
Jack Schwartz
July 13, 2014
BrightSource has erected 7,644 mirrors in a circle surrounding a 327-foot tower filled with water.
Renewables Can Make Fossil Fuel More Efficient
The Daily Beast
May 29, 2014
It was once described as “the most reviled public statue ever erected” in the U.S.
Weird Washington Monument History
William O’Connor
May 12, 2014

Historical Examples of erected

The church has been supposed to have been erected by Edward IV.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 10, Issue 267, August 4, 1827
Various
Congress resolved that a monument should be erected to him at Annapolis.
A Sketch of the Life of Brig. Gen. Francis Marion
William Dobein James
To Linda it was almost a miracle, the rapidity with which a house could be erected in California.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
Temples and altars have been erected, and invocations addressed to her.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. II
Francis Augustus Cox
So the victors must have erected this statue at Olympia in gratitude.
Buried Cities, Part 2
Jennie Hall

British Dictionary definitions for erected

erect

adjective

upright in posture or position; not bent or leaningan erect stance

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

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

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

verb (mainly tr)

to put up; construct; build

to raise to an upright position; lift upto erect a flagpole

to found or form; set up

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

to hold up as an ideal; exalt

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

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

Derived Formserectable, adjectiveerectly, adverberectness, noun

Word Origin for erect

C14: from Latin ērigere to set up, from regere to control, govern

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for erected

erect

adj.

late 14c., "upright, not bending," from Latin erectus "upright, elevated, lofty; eager, alert, aroused," past participle of erigere "raise or set up," from e- "up" + regere "to direct, keep straight, guide" (see regal).

erect

c.1400, a back-formation from erect (adj.) or else from Latin erectus. Related: Erected; erecting.

erected in Medicine

erect

[ĭ-rĕkt′]

adj.

Being in or having a vertical, upright position.

Being in or having a stiff, rigid physiological condition.