how-to

[ hou-too ]

adjective

1. giving or pertaining to basic instructions and directions to the layperson on the methods for doing or making something, especially as a hobby or for practical use:

   a how-to book on photography.

noun

, plural how-tos.

1. a set of step-by-step instructions for accomplishing a certain task or reaching a certain objective:

   a how-to for fixing a leaky faucet.

2. the basic principles or approach for doing something:

   the how-to of investing in the stock market.

how-to

adjective

1. (of a book or guide) giving basic instructions to the lay person on how to do or make something, esp as a hobby or for practical purposes

   a how-to book on carpentry

Other Words From

• how-toer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of how-to¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

His earnest prose, alternately lyrical and artless but always compulsively informative, conveyed a near-missionary zeal for travel and elevated “Frommer’s” from the how-to genre to the kind of book that could change a person’s worldview.

From New York Times

“Mark Burnett wanted a talk show with variety guests, and I really wanted my old format of ‘how-to,’” Stewart said.

From Salon

Stewart had to cancel her previous how-to format television show, “Martha Stewart Living.”

From Salon

Legal scholar Matthew Seligman wrote How to Steal a Presidential Election with professor Lawrence Lessig as less of a how-to guide than an exploration of “what’s next?”

From Slate

Paramount dispenses with the slickness and some of the how-to’s of other tours, focusing instead on its historic Hollywood locale on Melrose Avenue.

From Los Angeles Times