coulda
English
Etymology
Written form of a reduction of could have.
Pronunciation
Contraction
coulda
- (chiefly slang) Could have.
- You coulda told him the truth.
Usage notes
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.