sure-fire

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word sure-fire. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word sure-fire, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say sure-fire in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word sure-fire you have here. The definition of the word sure-fire will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofsure-fire, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: surefire

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From sure +‎ fire, originally used to denote the efficacy of firearms (rifles) to fire.

Adjective

sure-fire (comparative more sure-fire, superlative most sure-fire)

  1. Guaranteed to work or happen.
    That hat should be a sure-fire way to spot him in a crowd.
    • 2005, Cory Doctorow, Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town:
      [] just as he knew that showing up for lunch with a brown bag full of dried squirrel jerky and mushrooms and lemongrass was a surefire way to end up social roadkill in the high school hierarchy, []
    • 2014 April 29, Andrew Clements, “ENO's 14/15 season: some sure-fire winners, while Coliseum plans will strengthen the company”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
      There certainly looks to be a whole clutch of sure-fire winners among the 11 promised new productions.

Translations

See also