Definitions for COULD
kʊd; unstressed kədCOULD

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. could(Verb)

   simple past tense of can

   Before I was blind, I could see very well.

   Etymology: From Middle English coude, couthe, cuthe, from Old English cūþe, past indicative and past subjunctive form of cunnan ("to be able") (compare related cūþ, whence English couth). The silent 'l' was added in the early 16th century by analogy with should and would, at which time the 'l' in those words was already also silent (and was sometimes not written, leading to shudd, wode, etc).[1]

2. could(Verb)

   conditional of can Used as a past subjunctive. Used to politely ask for permission to do something. Used to politely ask for someone else to do something. Used to show the possibility that something might happen. Used to suggest something.

   I think he could do it if he really wanted to.

   Etymology: From Middle English coude, couthe, cuthe, from Old English cūþe, past indicative and past subjunctive form of cunnan ("to be able") (compare related cūþ, whence English couth). The silent 'l' was added in the early 16th century by analogy with should and would, at which time the 'l' in those words was already also silent (and was sometimes not written, leading to shudd, wode, etc).[1]

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Could

   of Can

   Etymology: [OF. coude. The l was inserted by mistake, under the influence of should and would.]

2. Could

   was, should be, or would be, able, capable, or susceptible. Used as an auxiliary, in the past tense or in the conditional present

   Etymology: [OF. coude. The l was inserted by mistake, under the influence of should and would.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Could

   kood, pa.t. of Can. [M. E. coude, couth—A.S. cúðe for cunðe, was able; l is inserted from the influence of would and should.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'COULD' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #62

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'COULD' in Written Corpus Frequency: #88

3. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'COULD' in Verbs Frequency: #14

Anagrams for COULD »

1. cloud

How to pronounce COULD?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say COULD in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of COULD in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of COULD in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of COULD in a Sentence

1. Donald Trump:

   Now, I have to tell you, it's an unbelievably complex subject, nobody knew health care could be so complicated.

2. Pina LoGiudice:

   And that could be a 250 milligram capsule, and I’ll recommend two of those, twice a day.

3. South African Els:

   I could have made different choices in the singles today, i can take The United States on my shoulders. The United States is what The United States is. The questions will come from you guys and the public that I made mistakes in the selection of where I put my players.

4. An Israeli defense official:

   Scenarios could be a smaller-scale attack from the Golan, or from Lebanon, or on Israeli or Jewish targets abroad.

5. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio:

   I didn't have a lot of voters mention that to me, but I certainly think that could have been a factor.

Images & Illustrations of COULD

Popularity rank by frequency of use