coulda

Written form of a reduction of could have.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʊdə/, [ˈkʰʊd.ə]

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊdə

coulda

1. (colloquial) Contraction of could have.

   You coulda told him the truth.

Like other similarly formed contractions, speakers only use coulda to replace the modal sense of could have, i.e. where have precedes a past participle: We coulda seen each other. They do not use it to replace could followed by the verb have used lexically, e.g. *We coulda coffee. See also gonna.

• could of
• could've

• woulda, coulda, shoulda

• couldna
• shoulda
• woulda
• mighta
• musta

From English could.

coulda

1. could

   Yuh coulda mek dem guh home.

   You could let them go home.