couldn't

American  

[kood-nt] / ˈkʊd nt /

1. contraction of could not.

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couldn't British  

/ ˈkʊdənt /

contraction

1. could not

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couldn't Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing couldn't

• can't
• hurt a flea, couldn't

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Usage

See care, contraction.

Example Sentences

Speaking to BBC Sport from Malaysia, where he and his family now live, he said: "I noticed that if I was doing simple tasks, like making my children a bottle of water, trying to pour it and trying to steady my hand, putting a card in the card machine, putting the keys in the door, I just couldn't stop my shaking," he said.

From BBC

After retirement, Jones tried to forge a career in the financial sector, and then in his father-in-law's demolition business, but said he "couldn't deal with the high-stress environment or the hours" and had to "isolate myself in dark rooms for hours".

From BBC

The company lost one worker who jumped to another firm that had an overseas office rather than risk staying with Rimidi, which likely couldn’t have kept them on if they were forced to leave the country due to the policy change.

From The Wall Street Journal

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