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couldn't

American

[kood-nt] / ˈkʊd nt /

contraction of could not.

couldn't British

/ ˈkʊdənt /

contraction

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

couldn't Idioms

More idioms and phrases containing couldn't

can't
hurt a flea, couldn't

Usage

See care, contraction.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Steel said it couldn’t afford to keep operating its oldest mill near Pittsburgh.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

Children were dying, and as the father of two young girls, I couldn’t comprehend why he would turn away from science.

From Salon • Jun. 8, 2026

Portland couldn’t recover and the Sparks capitalized on turnovers to pull ahead by as much as 18.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

Outperformed by Cadillac team-mate Perez again and couldn't get in the mix with Alonso or the Haas cars.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026

It wasn’t just that she didn’t want to—it was that she couldn’t.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023