sure thing

American  

noun

1. something that is or is supposed to be a certain success, as a bet or a business venture.

   He thinks that real estate is a sure thing.

2. something assured; certainty.

   It's a sure thing that he'll refuse to cooperate.

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interjection

1. surely; for sure; O.K.

sure thing British  

adverb

1. (sentence substitute) all right! yes indeed! used to express enthusiastic assent

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noun

1. something guaranteed to be successful

sure thing Idioms  

1. a sure thing . A certainty, as in Making the bestseller list has been a sure thing for Stephen King . This usage originally alluded to a bet that one could not lose. [First half of 1800s]

2. Yes indeed, certainly, as in Are you coming tonight?—Sure thing! This use of the idiom as an interjection dates from the late 1800s.

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Etymology

Origin of sure thing

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Example Sentences

History suggests that’s far from a sure thing.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 22, 2026

The only sure thing appears to be Jessie Buckley, who plays William Shakespeare's wife in "Hamnet."

From Barron's • Mar. 12, 2026

“I have this crazy fear that the people who work with me only work with me because they think I’m a sure thing to win races.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

The system that makes us think that medicine is a sure thing rather than what it really is, at least in part: a long tradition of practitioners just trying stuff.

From Slate • Jan. 30, 2026

I thought what we had going was getting to be a sure thing.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz