sure thing
Americannoun
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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.
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something assured; certainty.
It's a sure thing that he'll refuse to cooperate.
interjection
adverb
noun
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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]
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Yes indeed, certainly, as in Are you coming tonight?—Sure thing! This use of the idiom as an interjection dates from the late 1800s.
Etymology
Origin of sure thing
An Americanism dating back to 1830–40
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It wasn’t a sure thing the Bob Baker Marionette Theater would even reach this milestone.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026
Ordinary people had borrowed money to buy stocks because they believed they were a sure thing, and there was no safety net upon which they could fall, except the cold, hard asphalt of the streets.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026
Pivoting to nonprofit work isn’t a sure thing, because there’s now less funding for many organizations.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
One bet she felt was a sure thing: That Ed Sheeran wouldn’t release a No. 1 album in 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026
“Chet Douglass,” I said uncertainly, “is a sure thing for it.”
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
