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 Blanquicet’s eyewitness account was revealed in his deposition filed in Miami federal court last week, before four South Florida defendants began their federal trial on murder-conspiracy charges tied to Moïse’s assassination. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 9 Mar. 2026

The storm formed near Edwardsburg and moved over a 50-mile swath through Three Rivers and Union City, causing widespread damage according to local authorities and eyewitness accounts. —Nour Rahal, Freep.com, 7 Mar. 2026

The evidence included reports showing that an eyewitness identified two suspects who were not Jamison or his codefendant. —Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer, 6 Mar. 2026

Militaries always maintain secrecy amid armed conflicts, and journalists always gather information from a variety of sources, which in 2026 means scouring commercial satellite imagery and dissecting eyewitness videos to better understand the battlefield. —Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 4 Mar. 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