Word.ws English Dictionary

couldn't've

US/ˈkʊd(ə)n(t)ə(v)/

couldn't've contraction: could not have.

Contraction

couldn’t’ve

  1. (contraction, nonstandard) Could not have.
    Synonyms:
    couldna

Synonyms of couldn't've

Origin of couldn't've

From couldn't + -'ve.

Questions about couldn't've

What does couldn't've mean?
Couldn't've means could not have.
What part of speech is couldn't've?
Couldn't've is a contraction.
How do you pronounce couldn't've?
Couldn't've is pronounced /ˈkʊd(ə)n(t)ə(v)/ (US).

Words near couldn't've in the dictionary

  1. couldn't seem
  2. couldn't stand
  3. couldn't stand the sight of
  4. couldn't stop a pig in a passage
  5. couldn't wait
  6. couldn't've
  7. couldn't-care-less
  8. couldn've
  9. couldna
  10. couldnae
  11. couldnt

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: couldn't've (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:

Cite this entry: “couldn't've.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/couldn%27t%27ve. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.