erection
/ɪˈɹɛkʃən/noun
erection is spelled E-R-E-C-T-I-O-N: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.3 times per million words in written English, the 14,509th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, erection means “The act of building or putting up or together of something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of erection is erections.
How many letters and syllables are in erection?
| Letters | 8: E-R-E-C-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.3 times per million words; the 14,509th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is erection?
Erection appears 3.3 times per million words in written English, the 14,509th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce erection?
- UK /ɪˈɹɛkʃən/
Erection has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-erection.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with erection?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as erection from its last stressed vowel (/ɛkʃən/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: neoteric.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of erection
- erections plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does erection mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of building or putting up or together of something.
- 2
Anything erected or built.
The Empire State Building was once the world's tallest erection.
- 3
Formal approval and official establishment of an institution such as a society or a monastery by higher church authorities.
- 4
The physiological process by which erectile tissue, such as a penis or clitoris, becomes erect by being engorged with blood.
There are men who say they cannot bear to show themselves naked before women unless in a state of erection; and indeed through erection the flesh becomes activity, potency, […]
- 5
The state or quality of being erect from engorgement with blood.
- 6
A penis or clitoris that is erect.
He placed his newspaper on his lap to hide his erection.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Erection in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | érection , bandaison |
| German | Errichtung , Erektion |
| Portuguese | ereção |
| Spanish | erección |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does erection come from?
Borrowed from Latin ērectiō, ērectiōnis, noun of action from perfect passive participle ērectus, from verb erigō, from prefix ē- (“out of”) + regō, + action suffix -iō.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).