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
The smoking gun is an isotope of iron called iron-60, which has been found in large amounts on the seafloor.
—
Michael Irving, New Atlas, 2 Mar. 2025
The Cubs answered the next day with the smoking gun — informing the media that their parking-lot video revealed Sosa had left at 1:35 p.m., or in the first inning.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2025
The researchers scanned the small patch of sky from which the neutrino likely came but saw no smoking gun such as a type of active galactic nucleus called a blazar—an immediate suspect for celestial shenanigans that scientists expect could create such a powerful particle.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 12 Feb. 2025
Posner doubts the lack of a smoking gun in the final documents would fully extinguish the other theories of how and why Kennedy was killed.
—Andy Rose, CNN, 25 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smoking gun
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Michael Irving, New Atlas, 2 Mar. 2025
The Cubs answered the next day with the smoking gun — informing the media that their parking-lot video revealed Sosa had left at 1:35 p.m., or in the first inning.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2025
The researchers scanned the small patch of sky from which the neutrino likely came but saw no smoking gun such as a type of active galactic nucleus called a blazar—an immediate suspect for celestial shenanigans that scientists expect could create such a powerful particle.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 12 Feb. 2025
Posner doubts the lack of a smoking gun in the final documents would fully extinguish the other theories of how and why Kennedy was killed.
—Andy Rose, CNN, 25 Jan. 2025
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 9 Mar. 2025.
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