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

The description the eyewitness gave matched that of Zelig Williams. — Dateline Nbc, NBC news, 30 July 2026

Did the surviving roommates serve as eyewitnesses in Bryan Kohberger’s trial? — Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026

Prosecutors say the woman who was driving Benson-Garrett had her hazard lights on, that Butler was speeding, and that an eyewitness driving near Butler noticed the crash and slowed down. — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 29 July 2026

Before the story is done Marlowe just misses being an eyewitness to two murders and by an even narrower margin misses being a victim. — Literary Hub, 23 July 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