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

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Instead, the clearest smoking gun in De Pauw’s data is actually much simpler: subjective rating of effort, which was assessed on a scale of 6 to 20 every four laps. —

Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 4 Nov. 2024 No smoking gun has surfaced to prove the alleged bribe actually occurred. —

Keegan Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2024 To be sure, no covert agency worth its salt is likely to leave behind a smoking gun. —

Aqil Shah, Foreign Affairs, 2 May 2015 Set in South Korea’s provincial mountain region of Hongcheon, A Girl with Closed Eyes opens as a young woman calling herself Min-ju (Kim) is caught, smoking gun literally in hand, standing over the bloodied corpse of celebrated writer Jeong Sang-woo (Lee Ki-woo). —

James Marsh, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for smoking gun