Word.ws English Dictionary

couldn't care less

couldn't care less verb: to not care at all; to have no interest or concern; to be apathetic. Also the alternative spelling of couldn't-care-less.

Verb

couldn't care less (simple past couldn't have cared less)

  1. (idiomatic) To not care at all; to have no interest or concern; to be apathetic.
    • I used to be so careless / As if I couldn't care less1987, Gary Clark, “Mary's Prayer”, performed by Danny Wilson
    • Less than 48 hours after Kirk was shot in broad daylight on the campus of Utah Valley University, Trump replied: “I tell you something that is going to get me in trouble, but I couldn’t care less.”2025 September 12, Ed Pilkington, quoting Donald Trump, “Trump declines to call for unity after Charlie Kirk killing in stunning move”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
    Synonyms:
    could care less, not give a tinker's damn, not give a tinker's cuss

Also used as

couldn't care less is also the alternative spelling of couldn't-care-less.

Synonyms of couldn't care less

Forms of couldn't care less

Verb
pastcouldn't have cared less
alternative formcould not care less
Adjective
comparativemore couldn't care less
superlativemost couldn't care less

Questions about couldn't care less

What does couldn't care less mean?
Couldn't care less means to not care at all; to have no interest or concern; to be apathetic.
What part of speech is couldn't care less?
Couldn't care less is a verb.
What is the past tense of couldn't care less?
The past tense of couldn't care less is couldn't have cared less.

Words near couldn't care less in the dictionary

  1. couldn't
  2. couldn't be bothered
  3. couldn't be fucked
  4. couldn't be more different
  5. couldn't but
  6. couldn't care less
  7. couldn't carry a note in a bucket
  8. couldn't carry a tune in a bucket
  9. couldn't catch a cold
  10. couldn't even
  11. couldn't get enough

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: couldn't care less (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.

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