couldn't
/ˈkʊd.n̩t/[ˈkʊɾ.n̩ʔ]
couldn't verb: could not (negative auxiliary).
Verb
couldn't
Origin of couldn't
From could + n’t.
Phrases with couldn't
- couldn't but
- couldn't even
- couldn't help
- couldn't seem
- couldn't wait
- couldn't stand
- couldn't help but
- couldn't be fucked
- couldn't care less
- couldn't get enough
- couldn't run a bath
- couldn't be bothered
23 more phrasesFewer phrases
- couldn't catch a cold
- you couldn't make it up
- couldn't have cared less
- couldn't be more different
- couldn't happen to a nicer
- couldn't stand the sight of
- wrote checks one couldn't cash
- wrote cheques one couldn't cash
- couldn't organise a chook raffle
- couldn't piss a hole in the snow
- couldn't stop a pig in a passage
- written checks one couldn't cash
- couldn't carry a note in a bucket
- couldn't carry a tune in a bucket
- couldn't pour water out of a boot
- written cheques one couldn't cash
- I couldn't of said it better myself
- couldn't organise a two-ticket raffle
- I couldn't have said it better myself
- couldn't organise an orgy in a brothel
- couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery
- couldn't organise a bun fight in a bakery
- couldn't pour water out of a boot with the instructions on the heel
Questions about couldn't
- What does couldn't mean?
- Couldn't means could not (negative auxiliary).
- What part of speech is couldn't?
- Couldn't is a verb.
- How do you pronounce couldn't?
- Couldn't is pronounced /ˈkʊd.n̩t/.
Words near couldn't in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: couldn't (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-couldn't.ogg.
Cite this entry: “couldn't.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/couldn%27t. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.