silver bullet

noun

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of silver bullet

: something that acts as a magical weapon; especially : one that instantly solves a long-standing problem

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Recent Examples of silver bullet from the Web

As the rivers come down and begin to clear, spawn bags will be the top bait for hooking a silver bullet.

— cleveland.com, "Fishing Report for March 30: Rain, wind put a damper on local fishing," 30 Mar. 2018
There is no silver bullet here that will make the biosimilar market go gangbusters.

— adam feuerstein, STAT, "In bid to lower prices, Gottlieb says FDA will take new action to speed approval of biosimilars," 28 Mar. 2018
Republicans insist that reducing taxes on the wealthy and regulations on corporations is the silver bullet; Democrats have generally told a more complicated story involving education, innovation, diversity, and redistribution.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "The Radical Proposal That Moderate Democrats Should Be Running On," 22 Mar. 2018
None of the ideas are a silver bullet and all have their supporters and detractors.

— tegan hanlon, Anchorage Daily News, "Mushers say the Iditarod can be saved. Here’s how.," 5 Mar. 2018
There may be no silver bullet, strength coaches warn, but there is a blue can.

— lee jenkins, SI.com, "Get Som: The New Solution for NBA Insomniacs," 6 Feb. 2018
To be clear, libraries are no silver bullet to everything that ails local news.

— david beard, The Atlantic, "The Libraries Bringing Small-Town News Back to Life," 28 Jan. 2018
Another suggested trying miniature silver bullets, or tiny stakes driven through the heart.

— steven strogatz, The New Yorker, "When Twenty-Six Thousand Stinkbugs Invade Your Home," 8 Aug. 2011
At the same time, there is no one silver bullet for becoming a GDPR-compliant organization.

— peter zaffino, Fortune, "Commentary: These New Regulations Could Transform Facebook and Google," 6 Feb. 2018

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

First Known Use of silver bullet

1806

SILVER BULLET Defined for English Language Learners

silver bullet

noun

Definition of silver bullet for English Language Learners

: something that very quickly and easily solves a serious problem

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silver bullet

Definition of silver bullet

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