How to know is someone is an alcoholic?

Depends: Some people with alcoholism are almost always intoxicated, lose family and friends, can't hold a job, and have every area of their life ruined by their drinking. Other people are very skilled at hiding it, drink alone and can still maintain work and family, but usually it catches up to them. It is less a matter of how much or how often people drink than what bad things alcohol does in their lives