ca'n't

A form of can't — Cannot (negative modal auxiliary); be unable to; not have the ability to (whether due to lacking relevant strength or skill or knowledge or supplies, or due to logical impossibility, etc).

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Meanings

verb
  1. obsoleteObsolete spelling of can't.

    [Alice:] and I'm sure I ca'n't be Mabel, for I know all sorts of things, and she, oh, she knows such a very little!

    1866, Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, chapter 2, →ISBN, page 17
Cite this entry
APA

ca'n't. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ca'n't

MLA

“ca'n't.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ca'n't. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ca'n't,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ca'n't.

Source: ca'n't on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.