eyewitness

noun

eye·​wit·​ness ˈī-ˈwit-nəs 

: one who sees an occurrence or an object

especially : one who gives a report on what he or she has seen

Examples of eyewitness in a Sentence

The police are hoping to locate an eyewitness to the shooting.

He was able to give an eyewitness account of the shooting.

Recent Examples on the Web

Faith in people who are paid to be eyewitnesses to history is gone. —Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025

Two eyewitnesses described to NBC News the horror of the attack that killed at least 10 people in a crowd celebrating New Year's Eve. —Ken Dilanian, NBC News, 2 Jan. 2025

The three eyewitnesses whom the Herald interviewed at length weren’t contacted by either the State Attorney’s Office or the FWC. —David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025

Graves’s office has charged more than 1,500 defendants accused of participating in the riot, their charges underpinned by tens of thousands of hours of video and photo evidence, cellphone data and eyewitness testimony. —Ella Lee, The Hill, 30 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1539, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

eyewitness

noun

eye·​wit·​ness -ˈwit-nəs 

: a person who sees an occurrence and is able to give a report of it

Legal Definition

eyewitness

noun

eye·​wit·​ness

: one who sees an occurrence or object or sometimes experiences it through other senses (as hearing) and usually reports or testifies about it