Meanings
- Southern USdouble modal / stacked modalmight be able to (used to soften "could" or make it even more conditional)
"He might could go there anyway and stay on academic probation for a year and then start running, but they won't accept him if he don't have a high school diploma."
2002-3, Michael Johnston, In the Deep Heart's Core →ISBN, page 172 http://books.google.com/books?id=_rqWu8NTKBsC&lpg=PA172&dq=%22he%20might%20could%20go%22&pg=PA172#v=onepage&q=%22he%20might%20could%20go%22&f=false1 more example
"Grammaw, Mr. Hammer said today you know things you won't talk about. That if he knew more about what's goin' on he might could go to the police, or to a lawyer, and maybe have Dunreith Smith arrested again."
1972-1991, Cyrus Colter, The Rivers of Eros →ISBN, page 133 http://books.google.com/books?id=MY6J8etc8jAC&lpg=PA133&dq=%22he%20might%20could%20go%22&pg=PR6#v=onepage&q=%22he%20might%20could%20go%22&f=false
Origin
In many Germanic languages and dialects modals can be stacked to combine their meanings; compare Scots micht cud.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
might could. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/might%20could
“might could.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/might%20could. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “might could,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/might%20could.
Source: might could on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.