FOR SURE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does for sure mean? 

• FOR SURE (adjective)
  The adjective FOR SURE has 1 sense:

1. not open to doubt

  Familiarity information: FOR SURE used as an adjective is very rare.

• FOR SURE (adverb)
  The adverb FOR SURE has 1 sense:

1. definitely or positively ('sure' is sometimes used informally for 'surely')

  Familiarity information: FOR SURE used as an adverb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FOR SURE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Not open to doubt

Context example:

she wanted to go; that was for sure

Similar:

unquestionable (incapable of being questioned)

• FOR SURE (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Definitely or positively ('sure' is sometimes used informally for 'surely')

Synonyms:

certainly; for certain; for sure; sure; sure as shooting; sure enough; surely

Context example:

sure he'll come

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

 Context examples 

We don't know for sure whether exercise slows mental decline or improves older adults' ability to think and make decisions.

(Aerobic Exercise May Mildly Delay, Slightly Improve Alzheimer's Symptoms, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

But the CDC could not say for sure if meningitis caused the deaths.

(Experts Link Fatal Mystery Illness in Liberia to Meningitis Bacteria, VOA)

But until Weimerskirch and other researchers return to Pig Island — hopefully, he said, in early 2019 — they won't know for sure.

(Study: World's Largest King Penguin Colony Declines Sharply, VOA)

The report isn't to their liking, that's for sure.

(Health threats caused by mobile phone radiation, EUROPARL TV)

A complete evaluation by a trained professional is the only way to know for sure if your child has ADHD.

(Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, NIH: National Institute of Mental Health)

A biopsy is the only test that can tell for sure if a suspicious area is cancer.

(Biopsy, NIH)

“I will ask you what you think of him three months hence, if we be all alive; for sure I am that—”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Ah, said he, that's the hitch, for sure.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Scientists need to do more research on this before they can say for sure.

(Electromagnetic Fields, NIH: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)

Well, for sure case, I knawn't how they can understand t' one t'other: and if either o' ye went there, ye could tell what they said, I guess?

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)