magic bullet

noun

|Updated on: 4 Aug 2018

Examples: magic bullet in a Sentence

Definition of magic bullet

1 : a substance or therapy capable of destroying pathogens (such as bacteria or cancer cells) or providing an effective remedy for a disease or condition without deleterious side effects

2 : something providing an effective solution to a difficult or previously unsolvable problem

a magic bullet to stem voter apathy

See magic bullet defined for English-language learners

Examples of magic bullet in a Sentence

There is no magic bullet to fix our educational system.

Recent Examples of magic bullet from the Web

Don’t bet on Atlantic City’s new casinos serving as the magic bullet to save the struggling Shore town, writes the Inquirer Editorial Board.

— oona goodin-smith, Philly.com, "Philly police raid Occupy ICE camp, Atlantic City's culinary energy on the rise | Morning Newsletter," 6 July 2018
There is no magic bullet or one program that fits everyone.

— michelle c. brooks, ajc, "Michael C. Melnyk, 46, of Marietta lost 70 pounds," 29 May 2018
Yet none of that worked, and one day the magic bullet for his problem popped in his head, Evans told CBC.

— josh magness, miamiherald, "People at this restaurant are armed and ready to fend off seagulls — with water guns | Miami Herald," 25 May 2018
But artificial intelligence isn’t a magic bullet Artificial intelligence is getting good at hunting down terrorist content, nudity and spam.

— jessica guynn, USA TODAY, "Facebook is having trouble fighting hate speech," 15 May 2018
Chattanooga may be an outlier—high-speed internet is not a magic bullet for every struggling municipality.

— alex shephard, The New Republic, "A Public Option for the Internet," 8 May 2018
This, those coaches and administrators contend, will finally be the magic bullet that puts Saban’s Alabama on the same playing field as former employer Toledo.

— andy staples, SI.com, "The Latest Evidence That Nick Saban Lives in His Competitors' Heads," 21 May 2018
The 1821 opera cornered the horror market when the hero hunter and a man looking to betray him cast a magic bullet that made the devil appear.

— domenica bongiovanni, Indianapolis Star, "Indy Opera will perform a major opera about love, written by a composer known for cheating," 16 May 2018
In other words, there’s no magic bullet—or flash of light—that will clear everyone’s complexion in the same way.

— kari molvar, Vogue, "Why Cross-Training Your Skin Is the Acne Solution Derms Swear By," 2 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'magic bullet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of magic bullet

1940

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

MAGIC BULLET Defined for English Language Learners

magic bullet

noun

Definition of magic bullet for English Language Learners

: a drug or treatment that cures a disease quickly and easily without producing bad effects
: something that solves a difficult problem easily

Medical Dictionary

magic bullet

noun mag·ic bul·let \ ˈmaj-ik-ˈbu̇l-ət \

medical Definition of magic bullet

: a substance or therapy capable of destroying pathogenic agents (as bacteria or cancer cells) or providing a remedy for a disease or condition without deleterious side effects