Phrase guide

how goes it

phrase · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

phrase

Meaning 1

An informal greeting roughly equivalent to how are you.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

The phrase is a regular Early Modern English equivalent of how's it going (when neither progressive tenses nor do-support were obligatory). As such it could have survived through regional dialects. Nevertheless modern usage is likely a calque of German wie geht es, perhaps additionally also Dutch hoe gaat het, Danish hvordan går det, etc.