Word.ws English Dictionary

how do

US/ˌhæwˈduw/

how do is the alternative form of how do you do.

Meaning of how do you do

Phrase

how do you do?

  1. (dated, formal) A greeting used upon being introduced to someone. Alternatives are how are you, pleased to meet you, and nice to meet you. (Sometimes used as a rhetorical question among familiar parties, depending on the region).
    • ‘How do you do!’ said the Minister. ‘I’m very well, indeed! how’s yourself?’1911, ‘Steel Rudd’, The Book of Dan, Brisbane: University of Queensland Press, published 1970, page 37

See all 2 meanings of how do you do

Questions about how do

What is how do the alternative form of?
How do is the alternative form of how do you do.
How do you pronounce how do?
How do is pronounced /ˌhæwˈduw/ (US).

Words near how do in the dictionary

  1. how can you sleep at night
  2. how come
  3. how dare someone
  4. how dare you
  5. how did it go
  6. how do
  7. how do I get to
  8. how do I get to the airport
  9. how do I get to the bus station
  10. how do I get to the train station
  11. how do ye do

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: how do (page history and authors); how do you do (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “how do.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/how_do. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.