smoking gun
noun
: something that serves as conclusive evidence or proof (as of a crime or scientific theory)
Examples of smoking gun in a Sentence
This document is the smoking gun that proves that he was lying.
Recent Examples on the Web
After recording the transmission, Zaminsky takes the evidence to Phil Gordian (Ron Silver), his smarmy boss at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, where his remarkable findings are rejected as a misinterpretation and the smoking gun tape is eventually destroyed.
—
Jeff Spry, Space.com, 31 May 2026
Buyers do not need a smoking gun to ask for a discount on a deal.
—David Chapman, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
Often people will speak as if the CH is the smoking gun that shows sometimes mathematical questions have no answer.
—Quanta Magazine, 18 May 2026
But Brockman mostly maintained composure while explaining why his journals shouldn’t be viewed as a smoking gun proving that Musk was defrauded.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 5 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for smoking gun
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Jeff Spry, Space.com, 31 May 2026
Buyers do not need a smoking gun to ask for a discount on a deal.
—David Chapman, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
Often people will speak as if the CH is the smoking gun that shows sometimes mathematical questions have no answer.
—Quanta Magazine, 18 May 2026
But Brockman mostly maintained composure while explaining why his journals shouldn’t be viewed as a smoking gun proving that Musk was defrauded.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 5 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for smoking gun
Cite this Entry
“Smoking gun.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smoking%20gun. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
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