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erect - 9 dictionary results

e⋅rect

  [i-rekt]
Use erect in a Sentence
–adjective
1. upright in position or posture: to stand or sit erect.
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.
a. (of a charge) represented palewise: a sword erect.
b. (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.
–verb (used with object)
6. to build; construct; raise: to erect a house.
7. to raise and set in an upright or vertical position: to erect a telegraph pole.
8. to set up or establish, as an institution; found.
9. to bring about; cause to come into existence: to erect barriers to progress.
10. Geometry. to draw or construct (a line or figure) upon a given line, base, or the like.
11. to form or create legally (usually fol. by into): to erect a territory into a state.
12. Optics. to change (an inverted image) to the normal position.
13. Machinery. to assemble; make ready for use.
–verb (used without object)
14. to become erect; stand up or out.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L ērēctus raised up (ptp. of ērigere), equiv. to ē- e- + reg- guide, direct (see royal ) + -tus ptp. suffix

Related forms:
e⋅rect⋅a⋅ble, adjective
e⋅rect⋅ly, adverb
e⋅rect⋅ness, noun

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

Antonyms:
1. reclining.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To erect
e·rect   (ĭ-rěkt')   
adj.  
  1. Being in a vertical, upright position: an erect lily stalk; an erect posture.
  2. Being in a stiff, rigid physiological condition.
  3. Archaic Wide-awake; alert.
tr.v.   e·rect·ed, e·rect·ing, e·rects
  1. To construct by assembling: erect a skyscraper.
  2. To raise to a rigid or upright condition.
  3. To fix in an upright position.
  4. To set up; establish: erect a dynasty.
  5. Mathematics To construct (a perpendicular, for example) from or on a given base.

[Middle English, from Latin ērēctus, past participle of ērigere, to set up : ē-, ex-, ex- + regere, to guide; see reg- in Indo-European roots.]
e·rect'a·ble adj., e·rect'ly adv., e·rect'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Erect

E*rect"\, a. [L. erectus, p. p. of erigere to erect; e out + regere to lead straight. See Right, and cf. Alert.]

1. Upright, or having a vertical position; not inverted; not leaning or bent; not prone; as, to stand erect.

Two of far nobler shape, erect and tall. --Milton.

Among the Greek colonies and churches of Asia, Philadelphia is still erect -- a column of ruins. --Gibbon.

2. Directed upward; raised; uplifted.

His piercing eyes, erect, appear to view Superior worlds, and look all nature through. --Pope.

3. Bold; confident; free from depression; undismayed.

But who is he, by years Bowed, but erect in heart? --Keble.

4. Watchful; alert.

Vigilant and erect attention of mind. --Hooker.

5. (Bot.) Standing upright, with reference to the earth's surface, or to the surface to which it is attached.

6. (Her.) Elevated, as the tips of wings, heads of serpents, etc.

Erect

E*rect"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Erected; p. pr. & vb. n. Erecting.]

1. To raise and place in an upright or perpendicular position; to set upright; to raise; as, to erect a pole, a flagstaff, a monument, etc.

2. To raise, as a building; to build; to construct; as, to erect a house or a fort; to set up; to put together the component parts of, as of a machine.

3. To lift up; to elevate; to exalt; to magnify.

That didst his state above his hopes erect. --Daniel.

I, who am a party, am not to erect myself into a judge. --Dryden.

4. To animate; to encourage; to cheer.

It raiseth the dropping spirit, erecting it to a loving complaisance. --Barrow.

5. To set up as an assertion or consequence from premises, or the like. "To erect conclusions." --Sir T. Browne. "Malebranche erects this proposition." --Locke.

6. To set up or establish; to found; to form; to institute. "To erect a new commonwealth." --Hooker.

Erecting shop (Mach.), a place where large machines, as engines, are put together and adjusted.

Syn: To set up; raise; elevate; construct; build; institute; establish; found.

Erect

E*rect"\, v. i. To rise upright. [Obs.]

By wet, stalks do erect. --Bacon.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : erect
Spanish: erecto, erguido,
German: aufrecht,
Japanese: まっすぐな
More Translations »

erect  (adj.)
c.1386, from L. erectus "upright," pp. of erigere "raise or set up," from e- "up" + regere "to direct, keep straight, guide" (see regal).Erection is 1503; of the penis, 1594.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: erect
Function: transitive verb
: to give legal existence to by a formal act of authority erected within the jurisdiction of any other State —U.S. Constitution article IV> —erec·tion noun
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Main Entry: erect
Pronunciation: i-'rekt
Function: adjective
1 : standing up or out from the body <erect hairs>
2 : being in a state of physiological erection
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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erect e·rect (ĭ-rěkt')
adj.

  1. Being in or having a vertical, upright position.
  2. Being in or having a stiff, rigid physiological condition.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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