sure thing

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.

interjection

1. surely; for sure; O.K.

sure thing

adverb

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

noun

1. something guaranteed to be successful

Word History and Origins

Origin of sure thing¹

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Example Sentences

The only sure thing in diets is that there’ll be a new one as soon everyone’s tired of this one.

From Washington Post

After everything that’s happened, nothing with Boeing is a sure thing.

From MIT Technology Review

However, e-commerce growth is a sure thing and multiple surveys have confirmed that holiday shopping is already underway, following Prime Day.

From Search Engine Land

Accordingly, our prediction model gives Los Angeles a 69 percent chance of winning its first title since 1988 — big by baseball standards, but far from a sure thing.

From FiveThirtyEight

If the Foxes looked like a safe bet for Champions League qualification before City’s ban, they looked a sure thing in its aftermath.

From FiveThirtyEight

But people have always liked, and will like, the idea of a “sure thing.”

From The Daily Beast

And her work in Trip to Bountiful was widely hailed as an Emmy sure thing.

From The Daily Beast

And I have a room full of venture capitalists, and they say, “Sure thing, how much does it cost?”

From The Daily Beast

The show became such a sure thing, in fact, that Phantom of the Opera no longer holds the record for opening day sales.

From The Daily Beast

Just ask Eddie Murphy, who lost his “sure-thing” Oscar following back-to-back dud speeches for Dreamgirls.

From The Daily Beast

The only sure thing about most of those schemes is the certainty of 'going bust' and losing every penny you have in the world.

From Project Gutenberg

He had had a sure thing then, and it was whisked away just when it would have enabled him to pass the crisis of his life.

From Project Gutenberg

Stevens and some of the girls in her set say it was considered a sure thing.

From Project Gutenberg

Ned Foster would never have advised me to put my all on Averstone unless he knew it was a sure thing.

From Project Gutenberg

Sounded like an attack, sure thing, said Kentucky, but whether our side is pushing or being pushed I have not a notion.

From Project Gutenberg