How to Use a sure thing in a Sentence

a sure thing

noun
  • Getting those kinds of returns in the future isn’t a sure thing.
    Jeff Sommer, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2024
  • Even getting into the World Cup, as the three islands did, is not a sure thing.
    Victor Mather, New York Times, 19 Sep. 2023
  • As a first-time offender, jail time isn’t a sure thing.
    Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2024
  • Still not a sure thing, with better odds of more consistent rain to the east and northeast.
    Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2023
  • But what seems like a sure thing quickly spirals out of control.
    Keely Weiss, Harper's BAZAAR, 14 June 2023
  • If cash transfers represent such a sure thing, then why has no one tried them?
    Mark Blyth, Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2014
  • Image In a world full of grave uncertainty, here was a sure thing.
    Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 2 June 2024
  • An effective ban — which, again, is not a sure thing even if the bill becomes law — would mean at least three things for content creators.
    Jon Healey, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024
  • Any deal that includes the potential for more money based on subscriptions is not a sure thing.
    Kevin Reynolds, The Salt Lake Tribune, 3 Aug. 2023
  • That Vineyard Wind 1 would be constructed at all has not always been a sure thing either.
    BostonGlobe.com, 2 Aug. 2023
  • Only one closer — left-hander Josh Hader — seems a sure thing.
    Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2023
  • But repealing the near-total ban on abortions isn't a sure thing, even with newfound GOP support.
    Stacey Barchenger, The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
  • Both races are in states that tend to send Democrats to Washington, although in this environment nothing is a sure thing.
    Philip Elliott, TIME, 31 July 2024
  • But that does not mean Biden’s industrial strategy is a sure thing.
    Josh Boak, Fortune, 26 May 2024
  • And even with all those variables lined up, rapid intensification isn’t a sure thing.
    Matt Simon, WIRED, 8 Sep. 2023
  • That has eased pressure on the Fed to keep raising rates, leading some forecasters to question whether a recession is such a sure thing after all.
    Ben Casselman, BostonGlobe.com, 27 July 2023
  • Chance is always in place, but prosperity is anything except a sure thing.
    Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024
  • Compared to the involved sorcery of developing players over time, Lillard is a sure thing.
    Dave Hyde South Florida Sun-Sentinel (tns), Arkansas Online, 4 July 2023
  • But longtime Red Lobster food experts and observers of Americana say the company's future is not a sure thing.
    Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 22 May 2024
  • Henderson was regarded as a sure thing by most draft experts, a first-overall talent cursed to run up against a game-breaking phenom.
    Corbin Smith, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2023
  • But this was still a relatively brief, mostly comedic performance, which is never a sure thing with the Academy.
    Vulture, 23 Jan. 2024
  • Snell, too, is far from a sure thing, considering he’s only exceeded 130 innings twice in his career.
    Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 5 Jan. 2024
  • Maui’s comeback felt like a sure thing as people weary of public health restrictions flocked to vacation destinations across the globe.
    Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC News, 18 Aug. 2023
  • Put your energy into a sure thing and promise only what’s feasible.
    Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2024
  • Voter approval of borrowing is never a sure thing, even in a presidential election when turnout is high and the electorate skews more progressive.
    Ari Plachta, Sacramento Bee, 1 July 2024
  • But tips aren’t a sure thing unless they’re automatically tacked onto a customer’s bill.
    Charisse Jones, USA TODAY, 15 May 2023
  • Re-signing Highsmith remains more realistic for Miami than re-signing Martin, but even that’s not a sure thing by any means.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 25 Apr. 2024
  • Tariffs, one of Trump’s only consistent enthusiasms, are a sure thing.
    Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 26 May 2024
  • Perhaps because neither player is a sure thing to contribute significantly down the stretch, although both have the potential to do so.
    Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2023
  • Among the Americans, only the Oscar de la Renta brand remains active in the luxury arena, where financing is always a challenge and longevity never a sure thing.
    Bridget Foley, Town & Country, 26 Apr. 2023

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

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