earwitness

American  

[eer-wit-nis] / ˈɪərˌwɪt nɪs /

noun

Law.

1. a person who testifies or can testify to what they have heard.

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Etymology

Origin of earwitness

First recorded in 1530–40; ear ¹ + witness

Explanation

An earwitness is someone who can give official testimony about something they've heard. If you're on a phone call and hear an argument break out in the background, you could become an earwitness to the disagreement. The word earwitness usually refers to a person who heard something important and is required to talk about what they heard in court. But an earwitness may also just be someone who overheard something, even if it's not legally important. The word earwitness sounds like it might be a play on the more familiar word eyewitness, someone who saw something happen with their own eyes. But in fact, both words were first recorded back in the 1500s.

Example Sentences

That year, a million people gathered on the National Mall to witness an historic fireworks display, while we, in our little corner of the world, enjoyed ours.

From Salon • Jul. 3, 2026

But having spent thousands to travel across the world, they only got to witness Scotland's 13th major tournament exit at the group stage.

From BBC • Jun. 28, 2026

They see the beautiful things in one another that the other one is not able to witness in themselves.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026

Here it may be useful to witness the still-lacking progress in domestic drone defense.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026

Sometimes, when she came to visit, she called the photograph to witness that she had indeed been beautiful in her youth.

From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin