surefire

[ shoor-fahyuhr, shur- ]

adjective

1. sure to work; foolproof:

   a surefire moneymaking scheme.

Word History and Origins

Origin of surefire¹

First recorded in 1915–20; sure + fire

Example Sentences

Superhero movies are no longer a surefire win at the box office, and so-called mid-tier films costing about $50 million to $100 million have become more scarce.

From Los Angeles Times

Buying a home has often been seen as a surefire path to wealth, with some going to the extreme and saying “Renting is throwing money away.”

From Salon

“Citizen Nation” vibrates with the same earnest energy that made 2002’s spelling bee documentary “Spellbound” so memorable, although where that documentary uses its competitors’ stories to test whether hard work and self-assuredness are surefire keys to success, this series doesn’t bother with such fantasy.

From Salon

But the mounting pressure of rising costs and no surefire hit left him stressed.

From Los Angeles Times

Gogol says there is only one surefire way to tell if your herb has properly dried.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• foolproof