run aground
Hit the shallows
To run aground is for a boat or ship to become stuck on the bottom in shallow water, unable to move forward: The tanker ran aground on a sandbar.
Figuratively, plans or efforts run aground when they stall or fail: Negotiations ran aground over the budget.
Stuck on land
- shoalShallow water hazard
- sandbarUnderwater ridge of sediment
- reefUnderwater rock or coral formation
- shallowsAreas of little depth
keel · low tide · hull · bow · stern · captain · helmsman · maritime
beached
Stuck on land
shallows · keel · low tide · hull · bow · stern · captain · helmsman · maritime · vessel
marooned
Left stranded and helpless
isolated · abandoned · helpless · adrift · shipwrecked · deserted · forsaken · immobilized · sidelined · derelict
stall
Enclosed compartment or delay
falter · abort · backfire · miscarry · fizzle · impasse · deadlock · standstill · setback · obstacle
- failingfail, fails, collapse, flop, bomb
- Nautical Idiomsbatten down the hatches, all hands on deck, smooth sailing, three sheets to the wind, in the same boat
run agroundfloat
Buoyant object or vehicle
stay afloat · glide · cruise · set sail · make headway
run agroundmove forward
Travel in intended direction
gain momentum · take off · advance · flourish · succeed
run, ground, runner, running, underground, grounds, runs, grounded, grounding