eyewitness

[ahy-wit-nis, ahy-wit-nis, ahy-wit-nis]

noun

1. a person who actually sees some act, occurrence, or thing and can give a firsthand account of it.

   There were two eyewitnesses to the murder.

verb (used with object)

1. to view with one's own eyes.

   to eyewitness a murder.

eyewitness

/ ˈaɪˌwɪtnɪs /

noun

1. 1. a person present at an event who can describe what happened

   2. ( as modifier )

      an eyewitness account

Word History and Origins

Origin of eyewitness¹

First recorded in 1530–40; eye + witness

Example Sentences

One eyewitness told the BBC that he believes an electrical fire was the cause.

Read more on BBC

With daily assistance from Fox News, the administration has accused ICE protesters of significantly more violence than eyewitness accounts, or state and local law enforcement officers, have observed.

Read more on Salon

No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been found.

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Turkey has not said what caused the incident, but dramatic footage taken by eyewitnesses and published by Azerbaijani media appeared to show the plane spinning horizontally alongside several bits of debris as it fell.

Read more on Barron's

"There were no eyewitnesses, no video evidence, and no police report or investigation," they wrote about Ms Carroll's allegations.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• bystander 
• observer 
• witness