échouent

Échouent is the third person plural present indicative form of the French verb échouer. The verb means to fail or to run aground, depending on the context. Échouent is used with a plural subject, for example: les plans échouent (the plans fail) or les bateaux échouent sur les rochers (the ships run aground).

Maritime use is a common sense of échouer, describing a vessel that becomes stuck on the shore, reef, or shoal. In this sense, échouement (the noun form) refers to the act or state of a ship being stranded, often after a storm or navigational error. The adjective échoué accompanies nouns to describe something that has failed or that has run aground, as in un navire échoué.

Figuratively, échouer is widely used to express failure of projects, plans, or efforts. In narrative or analytical writing, one might say que les négociations échouent, or que les efforts échouent, indicating ongoing or general ineffectiveness. The past participle échoué is used to form compound tenses (ils ont échoué) and as an adjective (un plan échoué).

Etymology in brief: échouer comes from a sense of being cast ashore and later extended to imply failure in general. The form échouent is simply the present tense concord with the subject.

See also: échouement, échoué, échouant. Translations include to fail, to come to nothing, to run aground, depending on the context. The term is widely understood in French-language maritime and figurative discourse.