sure
[ shoor, shur ]
/ ʃʊər, ʃɜr /
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adjective, sur·er, sur·est.
adverb
Informal. certainly; surely: It sure is cold out. Sure, I'll come.
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Idioms about sure
Origin of sure
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English sur(e), from Middle French sur,Old French seur, from Latin sēcūrus “carefree”; see secure
words often confused with sure
Both sure and surely are used as intensifying adverbs with the sense “undoubtedly, certainly.” In this use, sure is generally informal and occurs mainly in speech and written representations of speech: She sure dazzled the audience with her acceptance speech. It was sure hot enough in the auditorium. Surely is used in this sense in all varieties of speech and writing, even the most formal: The court ruled that the law was surely meant to apply to both profit-making and nonprofit organizations. See also quick, slow.
OTHER WORDS FROM sure
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use sure in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for sure
sure
/ (ʃʊə, ʃɔː) /
adjective
adverb
(sentence substitute) informal willingly; yes
(sentence modifier) informal, mainly US and Canadian without question; certainly
Derived forms of sure
sureness, nounWord Origin for sure
C14: from Old French seur, from Latin sēcūrus secure
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 sure
sure
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.