smoking gun

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.

"There is no smoking gun in this case," Kaufman told the three-judge panel at the ICC.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

But they were, with remarkable frequency, also a smoking gun.

From Slate • Feb. 18, 2026

But the RBA still needs a smoking gun in the CPI data, with most attention on the trimmed mean core inflation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

"A clean signal would be a smoking gun, in my opinion," Silk said.

From Science Daily • Oct. 18, 2025

The tape of Nixon and his staff plotting to use the CIA to block the FBI’s investigation of the Watergate break-in proved to be the smoking gun prosecutors were looking for.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin