overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

elect.

One chosen or set apart.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ɪˈlɛkt/Received-Pronunciation/ɪˈlɛkt/General-American/i-/General-American/ə-/General-American
  1. One chosen or set apart.

  2. In Calvinist theology, one foreordained to Heaven. In other Christian theologies, someone chosen by God for salvation.

Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Latin ēlēctus, past participle of ēligō (“to pick out, choose, elect”), from ē- (“out”) + legō (“to pick out, pick, gather, collect, etc.”); see legend. Cognate to eclectic, which is via Ancient Greek rather than Latin, hence prefix ἐκ (ek), rather than e- (from ex).

verb/ɪˈlɛkt/Received-Pronunciation/ɪˈlɛkt/General-American/i-/General-American/ə-/General-American
  1. To choose or make a decision (to do something).

    transitive
  2. (Of a group) to officially select one or more candidates in an election to hold office.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Latin ēlēctus, past participle of ēligō (“to pick out, choose, elect”), from ē- (“out”) + legō (“to pick out, pick, gather, collect, etc.”); see legend. Cognate to eclectic, which is via Ancient Greek rather than Latin, hence prefix ἐκ (ek), rather than e- (from ex).

adj/ɪˈlɛkt/Received-Pronunciation/ɪˈlɛkt/General-American/i-/General-American/ə-/General-American
  1. Who has been elected in a specified post, but has not yet entered office.

    not-comparable · postpositional
    He is the President elect.
  2. Chosen; taken by preference from among two or more.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Latin ēlēctus, past participle of ēligō (“to pick out, choose, elect”), from ē- (“out”) + legō (“to pick out, pick, gather, collect, etc.”); see legend. Cognate to eclectic, which is via Ancient Greek rather than Latin, hence prefix ἐκ (ek), rather than e- (from ex).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

elect has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

elect studioelect workshello, elect

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.