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.

Smith couldn’t afford to pay insurance bills that were higher than her rent.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

The Sparks couldn’t hold a candle to UCLA.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

In more than a third of the cases, prosecutors quickly dismissed charges that couldn’t be substantiated, refused to file charges at all, or lost at trial.

From Salon • Apr. 15, 2026

"I really wanted someone to recognise this condition, it was like something smashed my confidence, that I couldn't deal with anything at all," she said.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

Alas, nothing about a soul who couldn’t enter the Afterlife.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

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