elect

/əˈlɛkt/

/ɛˈlɛkt/

Other forms: elected; electing; elects; electly

To elect is to choose. A group of citizens may elect the next president, or you may just elect to stay home during the blizzard.

Most famously, in the political sense, elect means to choose a person for public office, usually via an election. It also means to choose a particular course in life of major consequence. You probably don't elect to drink Pepsi over Coke, but you do elect to study a particular major at college, or sign up for military service.

Definitions of elect

1. verb

   select by a vote for an office or membership
   “We elected him chairman of the board”

   types:

   co-opt

   choose or elect as a fellow member or colleague

   reelect, return

   elect again

   type of:

   choose, pick out, select, take

   pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives
2. verb

   choose
   “I elected to have my funds deposited automatically”

   type of:

   choose, pick out, select, take

   pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives
3. adjective

   selected as the best
   “an elect circle of artists”

   synonyms: elite

   selected

   chosen in preference to another
4. adjective

   elected but not yet installed in office
   “the president elect”

   synonyms:

   incoming

   arriving at a place or position
5. noun

   an exclusive group of people
   “one of the elect who have power inside the government”

   synonyms: chosen

   type of:

   elite, elite group

   a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status