Definitions for could
kʊd; unstressed kədcould

couldverb
simple past tense of can
Before I was blind, I could see very well.
couldverb
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]

could
The English modal verbs are a subset of the English auxiliary verbs used mostly to express modality (properties such as possibility, obligation, etc.). They can be distinguished from other verbs by their defectiveness (they do not have participle or infinitive forms) and by their neutralization (that they do not take the ending -(e)s in the third-person singular). The principal English modal verbs are can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, and must. Certain other verbs are sometimes, but not always, classed as modals; these include ought, had better, and (in certain uses) dare and need. Verbs which share only some of the characteristics of the principal modals are sometimes called "quasi-modals", "semi-modals", or "pseudo-modals".

could
Could is a modal verb that is used to indicate possibility or ability in conditional or hypothetical situations. It suggests that something is likely or feasible but not certain, or that someone has the potential or capability to do something.

Could
of Can
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.]

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.]

Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'could' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #62
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'could' in Written Corpus Frequency: #88
Verbs Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'could' in Verbs Frequency: #14

Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of could in Chaldean Numerology is: 5
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of could in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Jim McCafferty:
I would be incredulous if China's GDP growth could continue at the level it's been historically, so I think there's always been an anticipation of some gradual slowdown, but the slowdown of the growth rate is probably less than the market really wants to believe.
Irwin Michael:
Yesterday there appeared a fair amount of capitulation. It appeared to be more retail-oriented than institutional from what we could see in terms of the volumes.
Mariam Farzayee:
He was talking to me about he’s terrified for his own life and he feels so helpless and doesn’t know what he can really do from there, he said the night before, the Taliban had come to his house and they broke a ton of windows in his neighborhood and they also broke the windows in his cars. He said all he could do was shelter in place because there’s really nothing he can do.
Aakash Doshi:
I think blending margins could remain pressured more than they have been historically. This puts that export flow to Southeast Asia and the Middle East at risk.
Dr Stacie Pettyjohn:
The Houthis and Iranians have had sea drones in the past, but Ukrainians really took it to the next level and showed what other countries could do, the US sea drones very much emerged off back of the Ukraine war and seeing what they innovated.