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. Yolany Padilla:

   I didn't want to believe that could be true, it hurt so much to even think it could be 60 days.

2. Director Miles George:

   We have contemplated ... the possibility of separating our Australian and U.S. businesses so that the U.S. business can be financed out of the U.S., where we think it would get better value recognition and make more sense, separating could be either a sale of the entire U.S. business or a refinancing which would see us raise equity into the U.S. business at the U.S. business level.

3. James Brady:

   I wish that we could say that we could bring Jordan McNair back to life, that would be the greatest thing that we could possibly do. That can not be done, and the tragedy that the Jordan McNair family has had to deal with can not be overcome.

4. Karl Kappra:

   You could send a small UAS system into a building, have it fly through the building able to autonomously show you where walls and threats are inside the building, multi-function.

5. Donald Trump:

   Even military cemeteries or public transportation advertising authorities could lose control over whether that graphic or profane content would be displayed on their property.

Images & Illustrations of could

Popularity rank by frequency of use