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

"If nothing else, it's an exercise in expressing their rights and trying to make sure things improve."

From BBC

Call it a sure thing in uncertain times.

From The Wall Street Journal

That said, for inflation not to persist assumes the public expects it to come down again, and that isn’t a sure thing.

From The Wall Street Journal

But such a lengthy outage is far from a sure thing.

From Barron's

As a Glitcher, it was my job to make sure things stayed exactly the way the history books described without interference from a Butterfly.

From Literature