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erect

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erect¹

  • /ɪˈɹɛkt/

Sounds like arrect (sometimes, if erect begins with a schwa) · Rhymes with -ɛkt

Where it comes from

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”).

adjective more erect · most erect

  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. of body parts Rigid, firm; standing out perpendicularly, especially as the result of stimulation. The penis should be fully erect before commencing copulation.

    Similar: hard, stiff

  3. of a person Having an erect penis or clitoris. OK, baby, I'm erect now. Let's get it on!

    Similar: hard, stiff

  4. obsolete Bold; confident; free from depression; undismayed. But who is he, by years / Bowed, but erect in heart?
  5. obsolete Directed upward; raised; uplifted. His piercing Eyes, erect, appear to vievv / Superior VVorlds, and look all Nature thro'.
  6. Watchful; alert. vigilant and erect attention of mind
  7. Elevated, as the tips of wings, heads of serpents, etc.

Opposite: flaccid

erect²

  • /ɪˈɹɛkt/

Sounds like arrect (sometimes, if erect begins with a schwa) · Rhymes with -ɛkt

Where it comes from

From Middle English erecten, from the adjective (see above).

verb erects · erecting · erected

  1. transitive To put up by the fitting together of materials or parts. to erect a house or a fort
  2. transitive To cause to stand up or out.
  3. To raise and place in an upright or perpendicular position; to set upright; to raise. to erect a pole, a flagstaff, a monument, etc.
  4. intransitive, of a gyroscopic attitude indicator To spin up and align to vertical. As soon as electrical power was restored, the attitude indicators' gyros would have begun to erect.
  5. transitive To lift up; to elevate; to exalt; to magnify. that didst his state above his hopes erect
  6. transitive To animate; to encourage; to cheer. It raiseth the dropping spirit, erecting it to a loving complaisance.
  7. transitive To cast or draw up (a figure of the heavens, horoscope etc.). 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.
  8. intransitive To enter a state of physiological erection. On the 17th of July, the patient returned to the country, perfectly healed: the penis erected and he was capable of coition.
  9. transitive To set up as an assertion or consequence from premises, etc. from fallacious foundations, and misapprehended mediums, erecting conclusions no way inferrible from their premises
  10. transitive To set up or establish; to found; to form; to institute. to erect a new commonwealth

Similar: build

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: erectile, tumid, rear, upright, standing, rearing, hard, stand-up, put up, raise, straight, passant, set up, rampant, statant, unbowed

adjective

Opposite: flaccid

verb

Similar: build

Translations

Every language

adj vertical in position

Españolerecto
Portuguêsereto
Françaisdressé, érigé
Italianoeretto, duro
Русскийпрямо́й prjamój, вертикальный vertikalʹnyj, вертика́льно поднятый vertikálʹno podnjatyj

adj standing out perpendicularly

Españolerguido, enhiesto
Portuguêsereto
Françaisdressé, en érection, érigé
Deutscherigiert
Italianodritto, eretto
Русскийощетинившийся oščetinivšijsja, торчащий torčaščij

adj having an erect penis

Españolempalmado, erecto
Portuguêsereto
Françaisen érection

verb to raise and place in an upright or perpendicular position

Españolerguir, enhestar

verb to put up by the fitting together of materials or parts

Españolerigir
Portuguêserigir, erguer
Русскийсооружать sooružatʹ, устана́вливать ustanávlivatʹ, возводить vozvoditʹ, строить stroitʹ

verb to cause to stand up or out

Españolerguir
Portuguêserigir, erguer
Русскийвыпрямлять vyprjamljatʹ, распрямлять rasprjamljatʹ

verb to set up or establish

Españolerigir

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Cite this
MLA

"erect." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/erect. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

erect. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/erect

Chicago

"erect." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/erect.

BibTeX
@misc{erect_2026,
  title = {erect},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/erect},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}