as in standing
rising straight up
a lone tree remained erect after the terrible tornado had passed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to raise
to fix in an upright position
the tribes of the Pacific Northwest erected totem poles in front of their dwellings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to build
to form by putting together parts or materials
we'd better erect some sort of shelter before these woods are in total darkness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of erect
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2026
According to the woman Hernandez became erect while touching her back and stomach, then covered himself with a pillow, the affidavit read.
—Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Feb. 2026
ABC News, 1 May 2026
The sculpture appeared to have been erected in the early hours of Wednesday on a plinth on a traffic island in Waterloo Place, near Buckingham Palace.
—Reuters, NBC news, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for erect
Adjective
The same rush to rename buildings, erect statues, hang massive banners of faces and publicly declare fealty to the leader in power is on display in North Korea, Cuba and the former Soviet Union.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2026
According to the woman Hernandez became erect while touching her back and stomach, then covered himself with a pillow, the affidavit read.
—Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Feb. 2026
Verb
In addition to the locals, people from all over Bavaria and beyond flocked to the small village of about 4,500 residents on Friday to watch the Maypole being erected — a custom that has been observed for centuries and is deeply rooted in Bavarian folklore.
—ABC News, 1 May 2026
The sculpture appeared to have been erected in the early hours of Wednesday on a plinth on a traffic island in Waterloo Place, near Buckingham Palace.
—Reuters, NBC news, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for erect
Recent Examples of Synonyms for erect
Adjective
-
The sellout Garden arena gave a standing ovation as the ball found Josh Hart, who missed a wide-open corner three.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
5 May 2026
-
Phase 2 is the standing process with slightly longer prosthetics with no knee but with a longer and wider foot like a platypus.—
Lexi Lane,
PEOPLE,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
Diplomats said the two countries raised strong objections when the UN Security Council discussed it behind closed doors last week, Reuters reported.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
-
Independent reports have raised concerns about confusion and conflicts over who is ultimately accountable for education in California.—
Jemma Stephenson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
The project is particularly acrimonious, drawing out geographical battles between north and south and thorny fights between officials who want to build the tunnel and environmentalists and Delta residents seeking to protect the local ecosystem and their way of life.—
Ian James,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
-
If companies want to build data centers, for example, they should be required not only to absorb any electricity-cost increases but also to pay for upgrades to our grid infrastructure.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
His hotel in Las Vegas glistens like a vertical gold bar.—
Jennifer Wilson,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
The agency, which maintains the vertical-lift bridge, said the $3 million emergency project aims to build scaffolding and rigging lines, remove old parts and install new electrical lines.—
Nicole Buss,
Sacbee.com,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
As Pluto goes retrograde today, note a health or work crisis that habitually rears its head.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
6 May 2026
-
Bost and her husband are raising two daughters in Calhoun, the same small river town dominated by the region’s multibillion-dollar carpet industry where she was reared.—
DYLAN JACKSON,
ABC News,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
Nguyen and Akhavan also worked with architects and engineers to make the necessary alternations to Canada’s permanent building in the Giardini, while protecting the tree that it is constructed around.—
Harrison Jacobs,
ARTnews.com,
6 May 2026
-
Large infrastructure projects like this one are complex — a two-mile bridge can’t be designed or constructed overnight.—
Katie Thomson,
Baltimore Sun,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
The routine continues with fluid recovery motions as the robot returns upright and performs additional dynamic movements with minimal instability.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
6 May 2026
-
River conditions must first recede and stabilize to allow staff to safely return the pump to an upright position.—
Ross DiMattei,
CBS News,
5 May 2026
Verb
-
With a burgeoning fanbase that stretched far beyond the South, the Braves turned into a World Series mainstay during the 1990s, and Turner finally hoisted the Commissioner’s Trophy in 1995 before selling the franchise the next year.—
R.J. Rico,
Fortune,
6 May 2026
-
Government payments hoisted these operations roughly up to the break-even line, data from the Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota shows.—
Star Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Erect.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/erect. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
