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 Curiosity’s continuing journey There’s no smoking gun pointing to how the sulfur was formed, but the team continues to analyze the data Curiosity collected to determine how and when each mineral formed. —

Ashley Strickland, CNN, 20 July 2024 Having lost the ability earlier this week to bring Baldwin’s role as a co-producer on Rust too deeply into the case, the actor’s truthfulness about pulling the trigger or not could be the figurative smoking gun for Special Prosecutors Morrissey and Erlinda Johnson. —

Dominic Patten, Deadline, 10 July 2024 Suspected killer worked hard to cover tracks, but notes revealed smoking gun. —

Fox News, 7 June 2024 The ongoing Republican impeachment investigation into President Biden appears to be running out of gas with no smoking gun emerging from six months of hearings and closed-door depositions. —

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 15 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for smoking gun

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'smoking gun.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.