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know-how

[noh-hou]
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noun
  1. knowledge of how to do something; faculty or skill for a particular activity; expertise: Designing a computer requires a lot of know-how.
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Origin of know-how

1830–40, Americanism; noun use of verb phrase know how
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

wisemindfulconsciousapprehensivereceptiveinformedaliveappreciativeawakecognizantfamiliarattentiveintuitionknacktalenthunchsentimentaptitudeimpulsesense

Examples from the Web for knowhow

Historical Examples

  • It's part of a smart gambler's knowhow to drop a few credits deliberately now and then.

    Starman's Quest

    Robert Silverberg

  • I only knowHow thoughts of you forever cling to me:I wonder how the seasons come and goBeyond the sapphire sea?

    Pulpit and Press

    Mary Baker Eddy

British Dictionary definitions for knowhow

know-how

noun informal
  1. ingenuity, aptitude, or skill; knack
  2. commercial and saleable knowledge of how to do a particular thing; experience
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for knowhow

n.

also know-how, "technical expertise," 1838, American English, from know (v.) + how.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper