Meaning & use
erect
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Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
To build something, or to put it up and fix it in position.
Grammar: Takes an object: erect a fence; the tent was erected.
Patterns
- erect something
Workers erected a stage in the town square.
The villagers erected a statue to honor the doctor.
We erected the tent before it got dark.
verbtransitivefigurativeformal
To set up a system, barrier or rule, usually to block or protect.
Grammar: Figurative; the object is abstract: erect barriers.
Patterns
- erect barriers
- erect a system
The country erected trade barriers against foreign steel.
Years of mistrust had erected a wall between them.
The company erected strict rules to protect its data.
adjectivecomparable
Standing straight and vertical, not bent or leaning.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after stand or hold: stand erect.
Patterns
- stand erect
- hold yourself erect
The soldier stood erect during the ceremony.
She walked with her head erect.
The old oak remained erect despite the storm.
Word forms
| third person singular | erects |
|---|---|
| past tense | erected |
| past participle | erected |
| -ing form | erecting |
| comparative | more erect |
Common combinations
- erect a fence
- They erected a fence around the garden.
- erect a monument
- The city erected a monument to the founders.
- erect barriers
- Governments erect barriers to trade.
- stand erect
- Stand erect and pull your shoulders back.
- erect a tent
- We erected a tent at the camp site.
Synonyms and how they differ
- build
- Build is the everyday word for making any structure, while erect suggests raising something upright.
- put up
- Put up is informal and often used for temporary things such as tents or shelves.
- upright
- Upright as an adjective means vertical and can also describe morally good people.
- construct
- Construct is formal and stresses assembling a large or complex whole.
Opposites
Word family
- erection noun
- the act of building or setting up
- erectly adverb
- in an upright way
- erectness noun
- the state of standing straight
- erector noun
- a person or tool that builds
Commonly confused: erect or elect? erect or direct?
erect vs elect
Elect means to choose by voting, while erect means to build or stand upright.
erect vs direct
Direct means straight or to guide, which is unrelated to building or standing upright.
Practice
The workers will ___ a tall fence around the building site tomorrow.
Choose one answer.
Erect means to build or put up a structure. Elect means to choose by vote, a tempting look-alike.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “erect”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.