bystander
noun
by·stand·er
ˈbī-ˌstan-dər 
: one who is present but not taking part in a situation or event : a chance spectator
innocent bystanders who were injured in the shooting
Examples of bystander in a Sentence
Two innocent bystanders were injured in the shooting.
bystanders rushed to help the victim of the mugging
Recent Examples on the Web
Two roads in Cape Girardeau buckled as Missouri experienced extreme heat over the weekend and a bystander happened to capture the scary moment on video.
—
Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 23 June 2025
None of the shots hit the targets, but one grazed a bystander.
—Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 23 June 2025
The video was recorded by a bystander at a Food 4 Less grocery store in the city of Pico Rivera in eastern L.A. County at nine-thirty that morning.
—Emily Witt, New Yorker, 22 June 2025
That drive to post has been so powerful that occasionally ICE or even the White House account will recirculate content that looks more like it was captured by a bystander — men sprinting away as agents tackle them to the ground.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for bystander
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Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 23 June 2025
None of the shots hit the targets, but one grazed a bystander.
—Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 23 June 2025
The video was recorded by a bystander at a Food 4 Less grocery store in the city of Pico Rivera in eastern L.A. County at nine-thirty that morning.
—Emily Witt, New Yorker, 22 June 2025
That drive to post has been so powerful that occasionally ICE or even the White House account will recirculate content that looks more like it was captured by a bystander — men sprinting away as agents tackle them to the ground.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for bystander
Cite this Entry
“Bystander.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bystander. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bystander
noun
by·stand·er
-ˌstan-dər
: a person standing near but taking no part in what is happening
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