eyewitness

noun

eye·​wit·​ness ˈī-ˈwit-nəs 

: one who sees an occurrence or an object

especially : one who gives a report of what has happened

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

However, following a series of Miami Herald articles detailing flaws in the investigation, including police not following up with key eyewitnesses, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office reexamined the case and charged Pino with felony vessel homicide in October 2024. —Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 23 June 2026

Directed by Hong Kong’s Frankie Tam, the film draws on Hong Kong’s first murder case solved entirely through forensic evidence and without eyewitness testimony. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 June 2026

In May, after the court ruled in the Stettiner estate’s favor, the Nahmads filed a motion for the case to be reconsidered, continuing to argue that the work had been misidentified and this time offering to provide fresh eyewitness testimony in the case. —News Desk, Artforum, 18 June 2026

Seeking eyewitness testimonies, Gordon’s team tracked down Toek Tik, whom the lawyer befriended and ultimately persuaded to talk on the record. —Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 17 June 2026

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