Used in a Sentence

could

Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for could.

Editorial note

There is very little chance that they could be right, but in case they are, and they execute well, the benefits could be huge.

Examples13
Definitions4
Parts of speech1

Quick take

conditional of can

Meaning at a glance

The clearest senses and uses of could gathered in one view.

verb

conditional of can

verb

Used to politely ask for permission to do something.

verb

Used to show the possibility that something might happen.

Definitions

Core meanings and parts of speech for could.

verb

conditional of can

verb

Used to politely ask for permission to do something.

verb

Used to show the possibility that something might happen.

verb

Used as a past subjunctive (contrary to fact).

Example sentences

1

There is very little chance that they could be right, but in case they are, and they execute well, the benefits could be huge.

2

If the water-shortage is already so bad that it could cause prices like that for individuals, then you've already got a problem that'll cause health issues.

3

I guess theoretically I could study up, but it would be at least a year or two before I could be competitive in interviews, right?

4

The subsidy could be made revenue neutral by funding it out of a tax on the un-subsidised portion.

5

However, I've always thought that with the right network and influence one could make major shifts in a whole industry if the timing is right.

6

So, they could hire another senior person at 2.5x the pay instead of 3-4 junior devs.

7

My suggestion is that plastic manufacturing, of the sort proven by the pTrumpet, could be a fast route to commodity bassoons.

8

Or you could recover perhaps 30% of your money by mining coins using spot instances.

9

A hole lot of stuff could be fixed using them without breaking any compability.

10

To answer your second question, your app could be shut down at any time if Apple finds out you are skirting their system.

11

In that particular situation, I cannot imagine anything else that we could have done for her.

12

Farmers would certainly choose to sell the water if they could.

Quote examples

1

But this could all be worked around (and some parts could be modified to require less memory as well), so all of the audiovisual effects you see in 8088 MPH are possible on an actual stock 1981 machine, with DOS 1.0 and a single-sided 5.25" floppy drive.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.

How do you use could in a sentence?

There is very little chance that they could be right, but in case they are, and they execute well, the benefits could be huge.

What does could mean?

conditional of can

What part of speech is could?

could is commonly used as verb.