couldn't
contraction of could not.
usage note For couldn't
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use couldn't in a sentence
Boehner's mad scramble couldnt' save his debt bill last night.
There was Cliff Manning, you turned the cold shoulder to him because he couldnt talk grammar.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline | Jennie M. DrinkwaterHe wouldnt talk grammar, or he couldnt spell or read Greek, and she will turn away, laughed Mrs. Wadsworth.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline | Jennie M. DrinkwaterI couldnt see any thing to cry over; I thought you made out that making mistakes was a very fine thing.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline | Jennie M. DrinkwaterIt wasnt very late, and, anyway, Jess couldnt have slept that night without talking the matter over with Mother Wit.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage | Gertrude W. Morrison
I always knew that she couldnt see through people, exclaimed her mother.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline | Jennie M. Drinkwater
British Dictionary definitions for couldn't
/ (ˈkʊdənt) /
could not
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with couldn't
In addition to the idioms beginning with couldn't
- couldn't care less
also see:
- hurt a flea, couldn't
Also see undercan't.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse