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 state argued that powerful circumstantial evidence – the timeline of Allen’s walk near the bridge, eyewitness statements and Allen’s own words to the police – also implicate him in the murders. — Jen Guadarrama, IndyStar, 21 Sep. 2026

With no eyewitness or traces of blood connecting her to the crime, the prosecution’s case relied solely on circumstantial evidence. — Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2026

Video and eyewitness accounts indicated that Urán had left the burning building alive and injured, escorted by soldiers. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2026

The whale was seen traveling through the San Francisco Bay on Tuesday and later in a delta in the Sacramento River near the Rio Vista Bridge on Wednesday, according to eyewitnesses. — Megan Fahrney, ABC News, 18 Sep. 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