exécutent

Exécutent is the third-person plural present indicative form of the French verb exécuter. It literally means “they execute” and is used to indicate that multiple subjects perform or carry out an action. The sense of exécuter covers a broad range of meanings, including completing tasks, implementing plans, or putting something into effect. The related noun exécution refers to the act of executing, performing, or carrying out, and appears in contexts such as legal judgments, military or administrative actions, and artistic performances.

Etymology and sense: exécuter comes from French, ultimately tracing back to Latin forms such as exsecutus or exsequor, conveying the idea of following through and completing a task. Over time, the verb acquired its modern usage in law, administration, technology, and everyday language.

Usage: In law, one might exécuter une sentence to carry out a judgment. In computing, exécuter un programme means to run a program. In the arts, exécuter une pièce refers to performing a musical or artistic piece. In everyday discourse, the phrase ils exécutent peut refer to workers or teams carrying out assigned duties.

Grammatical notes: exécuter is a regular -er verb, and exécutent follows the standard present tense pattern for ils/elles: j’exécute, tu exécutes, il exécute, nous exécutons, vous exécutez, ils exécutent. The past participle is exécuté and the noun exécution denotes the action itself.

See also: exécution, exécuter (infinitive), exécuteur (executioner).