smoking gun

See synonyms for smoking gun on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. indisputable proof or evidence of a crime.

Origin of smoking gun

1
First recorded in 1970–75

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use smoking gun in a sentence

  • He was a good judge of men, that eagle-faced major; he knew that the slightest move with hostile intent would mean a smoking gun.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • With a proud smile the old woman stood the smoking gun against the wall and straightened her cap.

    The Backwoodsmen | Charles G. D. Roberts
  • Jim thrust his smoking gun into his belt and caught Craig by the arm.

    The Black Box | E. Phillips Oppenheim
  • He looked up and beheld the girl about whom he had been thinking, every muscle tense, a smoking gun still against her shoulder.

    Meg of Mystery Mountain | Grace May North
  • He saw Campbell standing on the hill waving his still smoking gun.

British Dictionary definitions for smoking gun

smoking gun

noun
  1. a piece of irrefutable incriminating evidence

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with smoking gun

smoking gun

Something that serves as indisputable evidence or proof, especially of a crime. For example, There is no smoking gun in the Oval Office; the President had no role in tampering with the evidence. This expression alludes to the smoke coming from a recently discharged firearm, a normal occurrence until the invention of smokeless powder. [Mid-1900s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.