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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
One of the eyewitnesses overheard her, decided Rucker was responsible, and began repeating the rumor to others, tainting the witness pool, the defense argued at trial.
—Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025
Later, Ephron returned to the scene and recovered two shell casings, but there is no forensic evidence tying Mayers to the shooting and no eyewitnesses beyond the victim, Tacopina said.
—James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2025
Where Eaton Began Around the start of the Eaton fire, eyewitnesses saw flames at nearby transmission towers, raising questions about whether Southern California Edison’s electrical equipment had played a role in sparking the fire.
—Jonathan Wolfe, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
One of the lawsuits includes eyewitness accounts of a fire near one of the company's utility towers.
—Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 15 Jan. 2025
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Word History
First Known Use
1539, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near eyewitness
Cite this Entry
“Eyewitness.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eyewitness. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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
More from Merriam-Webster on eyewitness
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for eyewitness
Nglish: Translation of eyewitness for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of eyewitness for Arabic Speakers
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