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

Video from an eyewitness shows dark smoke trailing behind the plane's engines midair. —Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 25 June 2025

While officials did not disclose how many inmates moved, eyewitnesses reported dozens of buses transporting prisoners to alternate sites such as Fashafuyeh and Saheli prisons. —Amanda Castro hannah Parry shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025

An eyewitness said one of the women was flown to the hospital by helicopter, according to WTAJ. —David Matthews, New York Daily News, 13 June 2025

The militants and eyewitnesses accusing Israeli forces of opening fire as people approached a U.S.-run food distribution center. —ABC News, 1 June 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