English Explanatory Dictionary

can but hope

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To be unable to do anything (about something) other than hope [with that (+ clause); or (informal) with clause; or with so or (negative) not]; especially with long odds.

Word forms

can but hope could but hope

Etymology

Ellipsis of can do nothing but hope or can do naught but hope.

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on C Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary