smoking gunnoun [ C usually singular ]
uk/ˌsməʊ.kɪŋ ˈɡʌn/us/ˌsmoʊ.kɪŋ ˈɡʌn/information that proves who committed a crime:
The tape recordings provided prosecutors with the smoking gun they needed to prove he'd been involved in the conspiracy.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Proving and disproving
- actions speak louder than words idiom
- attest
- authenticate
- back sb up
- bear witness (to sth) idiom
- belie
- catch
- colour
- do justice to yourself idiom
- documentary
- evidence
- explode
- explosion
- proof
- stick
- testament
- the acid test
- the burden of proof idiom
- undocumented
- unsubstantiated
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