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

When Barrett got to the corner of Elder Creek and Bradshaw roads, an eyewitness pointed out that one of the vehicles had crashed into a tree, and was lodged several feet off the ground, covered in tree branches, the court document said. — Theresa Clift, Sacbee.com, 22 July 2026

Partial plates or whatever, because an eyewitness only sees the first three letters or whatever. — Joel Feder, The Drive, 22 July 2026

Police detained Schmidt twice during the altercation, originally placing him into the police vehicle after the officer shot his black Labrador, according to eyewitness Paul Bates. — Gabe White, Arkansas Online, 21 July 2026

Prior to the incident, an individual brandishing a knife outside the museum’s entrance was threatening pedestrians, prompting a bystander to place an emergency call to authorities, according to eyewitnesses and authorities. — Megan Fahrney, ABC News, 21 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