Advertisement
Advertisement
could
[ kood; unstressed kuhd ]
auxiliary verb
- a simple past tense of can 1.
- (used to express possibility):
I wonder who that could be at the door. That couldn't be true.
- (used to express conditional possibility or ability):
You could do it if you tried.
- (used in making polite requests):
Could you open the door for me, please?
- (used in asking for permission):
Could I borrow your pen?
- (used in offering suggestions or advice):
You could write and ask for more information. You could at least have called me.
could
/ ʊ /
verb
- used as an auxiliary to make the past tense of can 1
- used as an auxiliary, esp in polite requests or in conditional sentences, to make the subjunctive mood of can 1
she'd telephone if she could
could I see you tonight?
- used as an auxiliary to indicate suggestion of a course of action
you could take the car tomorrow if it's raining
- often foll by well used as an auxiliary to indicate a possibility
he could well be a spy
Usage Note
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of could1
Idioms and Phrases
see can (could) do with ; see with half an eye, could . Also see under can ; couldn't .Example Sentences
Enter Giacomo Castelveto: an Italian Protestant who found himself exiled in England, where he could only watch with growing horror as his new countrymen boiled and mangled their salads into an absolute mess.
When they took the mushrooms, they could communicate about what was going on in their internal worlds openly, without either of them feeling attacked, she said.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who led the government in its takeover of the plant, said the steel workers and their families could "breathe a sigh of relief".
Hamas has suggested it could consider disarming as part of such a tradeoff, but only if Israel were to pull all its forces out of Gaza.
Many in Iran are blaming the authorities for incompetence and worse, asking: How could so much inflammable material apparently be left on the port without due care?
Advertisement
Related Words
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse