Showing results for "how"

• a variation of howe.

how

¹ American  

[hou] / haʊ /

adverb

1. in what way or manner; by what means?.

   How did the accident happen?

2. to what extent, degree, etc.?.

   How damaged is the car?

3. in what state or condition?.

   How are you?

4. for what reason; why?.

   How can you talk such nonsense?

5. to what effect; with what meaning?.

   How is one to interpret his action?

6. what?.

   How do you mean? If they don't have vanilla, how about chocolate?

7. (used as an intensifier).

   How seldom I go there!

8. by what title or name?.

   How does one address the president?

9. at what price.

   How are the new cars going, cheaper than last year's models?

10. by what amount or in what measure or quantity?.

    How do you sell these tomatoes?

11. in what form or shape?.

    How does the demon appear in the first act of the opera? How does the medication come?

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conjunction

1. the manner or way in which.

   He couldn't figure out how to solve the problem.

2. about the manner, condition, or way in which.

   I don't care how you leave your desk when you go. Be careful how you act.

3. in whatever manner or way; however.

   You can travel how you please.

4. Informal. that.

   He told us how he was honest and could be trusted.

noun

hows plural

1. a question concerning the way or manner in which something is done, achieved, etc..

   a child's unending whys and hows.

2. a way or manner of doing something.

   to consider all the hows and wherefores.

3. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter H.

idioms

1. how so? how does it happen to be so? why?.

   You haven't any desire to go? How so?

2. and how! certainly! you bet!.

   Am I happy? And how!

3. how come? how is it that? why?.

   How come you never visit us anymore?

4. Here's how, (used as a toast.)

how ² American  

[hou] / haʊ /

interjection

Facetious: Often Offensive.

1. (used as a greeting in imitation of American Indian speech.)

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how ¹ British  

/ haʊ /

adverb

1. in what way? in what manner? by what means?: how did it happen? Also used in indirect questions: tell me how he did it

2. to what extent?

   how tall is he?

3. how good? how well? what…like?

   how did she sing?

   how was the holiday?

4. used to suggest something

   how about asking her?

   how about a cup of tea?

5. what is your state of health?

6. informal what is the reason (that)?

   how come you told him?

7. 1. is this satisfactory as regards…?

      how's that for size?

   2. an exclamation used to draw attention to a quality, deed, etc

      how is that for endurance?

8. 1. what is your opinion?

   2. Also written: howzat.  cricket (an appeal to the umpire) is the batsman out?

9. archaic what is the meaning of this?

10. Also: as how.  not_standard that

    he told me as how the shop was closed

11. in whatever way

    do it how you wish

12. used in exclamations to emphasize extent

    how happy I was!

13. (intensifier) very much so!

14. (as a toast) good health!

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noun

1. the way a thing is done

   the how of it

how ² British  

/ haʊ /

1. a greeting supposed to be or have been used by American Indians and often used humorously

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how More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing how

• and how

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Sensitive Note

See firewater.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hows
  plural

Etymology

Origin of how¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English hou, ou, hu, Old English hū; cognate with Old Frisian hū, ho, Dutch hoe; akin to Old High German hweo, German wie, Gothic hwaiwa

Origin of how²

First recorded in 1810–20; of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

how hows

Executives said the improvements, which Starbucks calls its Green Apron Service standards, are working, though investors are waiting to see how friendly baristas will translate into more profit for the chain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

“I feel like he’s almost out there running the route, how close he is to the receiver sometimes.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

As part of “By the People,” Slate’s series exploring how Americans can reclaim the Constitution and the law, Alexis Romero outlined three possible fixes for an out-of-control Supreme Court.

From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026

He said he learned how to hand rake mussels during the film, although admitted they were unusable by the end of the day.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

She then spends four years in Niger, Colombia, and El Salvador as a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching children and adults how to read and speak English.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

"We think it's crucial to understand the hows in order to develop new treatments and new ways of supporting that group of children."

From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2025

The hows are easier to explain than the whys when it comes to all this madness, so let’s start there.

From Salon ● Nov. 7, 2023

Physicists believe that there must have been some primordial imbalance that allowed matter to dominate the universe, yet the hows and whys remain open questions.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 27, 2023

I love that Beranbaum specifies weights in grams as well as ounces, and almost every recipe includes pro tips that explain the whys, whats and hows behind her methods.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 6, 2022

I have to hear the hows and whys and what-ifs.

From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi