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elect

i-LEKT/ɪˈlɛkt/

Verbelects, electing, elected

Noun pluralelects, elect

6 meanings of elect

Practice

  1. 1
    vote inverbtransitive
    To choose a candidate for an office by voting in an election.

    Citizens elect representatives to make laws on their behalf.

    The committee elected a new chairperson at yesterday's meeting.

    UsageElected to a body (elected to the Senate), or elect someone + the job with no article: they elected her president.

  2. 2
    adjective
    Describing someone who has won an election to a post but has not yet taken office, placed after the title it describes.

    The mayor elect outlined her priorities before the inauguration.

    As senator elect, he began assembling his staff.

    UsageGoes right after the noun it describes: the president elect, the mayor elect.

    Note

    Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility (1811) stretches it beyond public office with "his brother elect," meaning a man expected to become his brother-in-law but not yet one. That use shows the core idea: chosen, with the role still waiting to begin.

  3. 3
    decideverbtransitive
    To choose or decide to do something, especially after weighing the available options.

    Many graduates elect to continue their studies abroad.

    He elected early retirement after thirty years at the firm.

    UsageMost often elect to + verb (elect to stay), sometimes with a noun for the option chosen (elected early retirement).

    Similarchoose, opt, decide

  4. 4
    saved by Godnoun
    In Christian belief, a person chosen by God for salvation.

    The preacher taught that the elect were known to God before birth.

    She hoped to be numbered among the elect on the day of judgment.

    UsageUsually the elect, the whole group, taken as plural: the elect are saved.

    Note

    Theology sharpens the word into doctrine. In Calvinist teaching the elect are foreordained to Heaven, so the choice comes before any life is lived. Other Christian traditions speak more broadly of those God has chosen for salvation. The King James Bible of 1611 often frames it with a possessive, as in "mine elect," so that in such phrases the one who chooses is explicitly present.

    Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • Calvinist teaching holds that God chooses the elect for eternal salvation before their lives begin. frcna.org
    • Other Christian traditions also associate the elect with salvation. vatican.va
    • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. en.wikipedia.org
    • The King James Bible repeatedly uses possessive expressions such as "mine elect." en.wikisource.org
    • The chooser is explicit in possessive expressions such as "mine elect," but other passages use "the elect" without identifying the chooser within the phrase; Matthew 24:24 has "the very elect." en.wikisource.org

Less common meanings

  1. 5
    selectadjective
    Chosen by preference from among two or more; specially selected.

    For decades the society stayed an elect circle, open only to scholars the founders themselves had invited.

    He belonged to an elect circle of advisers close to the king.

    UsageComes before the noun, unlike president elect, most often in an elect few or an elect circle.

    Similarselect, chosen, exclusive

    Note

    Older writers could set the adjective after its noun: Spenser writes of "colours quaint elect." The King James Bible of 1611 speaks of the elect angels, a usage that points toward the theological "chosen for salvation".

  2. 6
    noun
    A person chosen or set apart from the rest.

    The elect gathered in the inner chamber, kept apart from the crowd.

    He counted himself one of the elect, handpicked for the expedition.

    UsageUsually the elect for the whole group, taken as plural; one of the elect names a single member.

    Similarelite

Practice

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Origin

Borrowed from Latin ēlēctus, the past participle of ēligō ("to pick out, choose, elect"), formed from ē- ("out") plus legō ("to pick out, gather, collect"). It is cognate with eclectic, which came instead through Ancient Greek.

Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 5 facts