couldn't
Americancontraction
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.
They’ve run into a few hiccups along the way; when they couldn’t find a Cameroonian restaurant in the city, they hired a private chef.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The LSU graduate wanted to play indoor volleyball in college, but she couldn’t because of injuries and instead joined the beach volleyball team.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
"I thought the day couldn't get any more big, any more significant," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
The apparent breakthrough couldn’t have come at a better time.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
“More ways than anyone can count. When I couldn’t walk anymore, he carried me. He taught me that a man can strike out on his own.”
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
