Skip to content

échec

failure, defeat

noun eh-SHEK Less Common
Mind & Emotions Emotions

Origin: Persian shāh (king), via Arabic and Old French

Also means

chess (the game)

Usage Note

Échec in the singular means failure or a setback; in the plural les échecs is the game of chess. Faire échec à means to thwart or check something. The expression échec et mat (checkmate) comes from Persian, where māt means helpless or defeated.

Examples

"Ce projet s'est soldé par un échec."

Natural Translation

This project ended in failure.

Literal Translation

This project settled by a failure.

Explore French by topic