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

Ironically, The World Will Tremble proves most effective in its coda, when onscreen text informs us that the two men provided the first eyewitness account of the mass murder of Jews. —Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2025

Syria violence Armed men loyal to the Syrian government carried out field executions and spoke of purifying the country, according to eyewitnesses and video, providing a gruesome picture of a crackdown against remnants of the former Assad regime that spiraled into communal killings. —Tricia Escobedo, CNN, 10 Mar. 2025

No doubt future historians will reference Armstrong Williams’ eyewitness account of President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress. —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 10 Mar. 2025

According to police, an eyewitness positively identified Malin as the individual who stole two bottles of alcohol and some energy drinks from the second CVS location. —Liza Esquibias, People.com, 5 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1539, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for eyewitness

• fitness
• witness
• unfitness

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