know-how
nounUK /ˈnəʊ.haʊ/ · US /ˈnoʊ.haʊ/
Etymology Deverbal from know how. American English, 1838.
1
The knowledge and skill to be able to (do something correctly).
- Marlo has the know-how to fix your computer.
- Today this situation has — at least in theory — been reversed in a startling way because the main source of wealth is no longer natural resources but scientific knowledge and technological know-how that has been accumulated incrementally since the advent of civilization.1989, L. S. Stavrianos, Lifelines from Our Past: A New World History, New York: Pantheon Books, page 237:
1 more example
- American innovators — with their world-class strengths in product design, marketing and finance — may have a historic opportunity to convert the scientific know-how from abroad into market gains and profits. Mr. Hill views the transition to “the postscientific society” as an unrecognized bonus for American creators of new products and services.2008 April 20, G. Pascal Zachary, “How Scientific Gains Abroad Pay Off in the U.S.”, in New York Times:
- Derived terms
- snow-how