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

Multiple eyewitnesses confirmed the last strike to NPR, as did the Pakistani defense minister Khawaja Asif, who said only a vehicle was hit. —Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 12 May 2025

In addition to live testimony, the legal team plans to present documents and statements from producers, Sony Pictures and other eyewitnesses. —Elizabeth Rosner, People.com, 8 May 2025

But, according to information from eyewitnesses and the impacts of the blast radius, those figures are expected to be drastically underreported amid concerns of escalating internal unrest, sources have told Fox News Digital. —Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 30 Apr. 2025

After the prosecutor declined to introduce any eyewitness testimony or cell-phone videos into evidence, all the attackers were acquitted. —Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 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