Erect

How to spell erect

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce erect

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does erect mean?

1. verbTo build or set up a structure, or to raise something into an upright position.
2. adjectiveStanding or positioned straight up; upright and rigid.

Erect in a sentence

• verb

  The council plans to erect a new footbridge over the railway.

• adjective

  The soldier stood erect throughout the entire ceremony.

• verb

  Workers will erect the scaffolding before the painting begins.

• adjective

  Good posture keeps the spine erect rather than slumped.

Where does erect come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin erigere, meaning 'to set up' or 'to raise', whose past participle was erectus. That verb was built from a shortened form of ex-, meaning 'up' or 'out', joined to regere, meaning 'to direct, to guide, or to keep straight'. The same regere root runs through a large family of English words, including 'direct', 'correct', 'rectify', and 'regular', all of which carry the underlying idea of straightness or proper alignment. English adopted erect in the late 1300s, first as an adjective describing something standing upright and straight, and shortly afterwards as a verb meaning to raise or build something into that upright position. Remembering that the rect part means 'straight' helps fix the spelling, since the same -rect appears in 'correct' and 'direct'.

How the word is built

• e- (variant of ex-, meaning up or out)
• rect (from Latin regere, to direct or make straight)
• adjective/verb ending