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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.

One person close to the situation told the BBC: "We were sending parsnips, which we could get, to fill the shelf space of steak, which we couldn't."

From BBC

He couldn’t bear to tie his skates.

From Los Angeles Times

"I couldn't help but just embrace it. Embrace that love."

From Barron's

"And to be able to do it here, on this stage, today and now. I couldn't be more proud of myself and my team."

From Barron's

Lyons said he couldn’t publicly discuss ongoing investigations into the fatal shootings of Pretti and Good, who were both 37, but added that he would welcome a private conversation with Good’s family.

From The Wall Street Journal

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