witness
Americanverb (used with object)
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to see, hear, or know by personal presence and perception.
to witness an accident.
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to be present at (an occurrence) as a formal witness, spectator, bystander, etc..
She witnessed our wedding.
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to bear witness to; testify to; give or afford evidence of.
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to attest by one's signature.
He witnessed her will.
verb (used without object)
noun
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an individual who, being present, personally sees or perceives a thing; a beholder, spectator, or eyewitness.
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a person or thing that affords evidence.
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a person who gives testimony, as in a court of law.
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a person who signs a document attesting the genuineness of its execution.
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testimony or evidence.
to bear witness to her suffering.
- Synonyms:
- substantiation, confirmation, proof
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(initial capital letter) a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
noun
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a person who has seen or can give first-hand evidence of some event
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a person or thing giving or serving as evidence
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a person who testifies, esp in a court of law, to events or facts within his own knowledge
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a person who attests to the genuineness of a document, signature, etc, by adding his own signature
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to give written or oral testimony
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to be evidence or proof of
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verb
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(tr) to see, be present at, or know at first hand
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to give or serve as evidence (of)
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(tr) to be the scene or setting of
this field has witnessed a battle
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(intr) to testify, esp in a court of law, to events within a person's own knowledge
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(tr) to attest to the genuineness of (a document, signature, etc) by adding one's own signature
Usage
What does witness mean? A witness is someone who was present at or perceives an incident, event, or occurrence, as in Jamal was a witness to the fact that I completed all my homework. People who witness something typically do so through seeing, although they can also witness a smell or sound. In order to witness an event, one must simply be present at the time the event happened, even if the witness was not directly involved. To witness something is to see, hear, sense, or know something, as in I witnessed our dog running out the door, but I didn’t see where she went. To witness is also to testify or give evidence, especially in a court of law. Example: The key witness in the theft case was a local shop owner.
Synonym Usage
See observe.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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prewitnessnoun
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self-witnessnoun
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witnessernoun
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self-witnessedadjective
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well-witnessedadjective
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witnessableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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witnesssimple
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witnessessimple
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have witnessedperfect
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has witnessedperfect
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am witnessingprogressive
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are witnessingprogressive
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is witnessingprogressive
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have been witnessingperfect progressive
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has been witnessingperfect progressive
Past
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witnessedsimple
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had witnessedperfect
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was witnessingprogressive
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were witnessingprogressive
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had been witnessingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of witness
First recorded before 950; (noun) Middle English, Old English witnes originally, “knowledge, understanding”; see wit 1, -ness; (verb) Middle English, derivative of the noun
Explanation
If you're walking down the street and see one car run a red light and plow into another, you are a witness to the accident. You saw it and can tell someone else how the accident happened. The first part of a witness's role is observation. You witness the accident. The second part is telling someone about it — bearing witness. In court, you can be a witness for the defense or prosecution. You can also witness a legal document, like a will, or a wedding conducted by the justice of the peace. Religious people use this word a lot too: being a witness in that sense is being a true believer who tries to convert others.
Vocabulary lists containing witness
"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark" by Emily Dickinson
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"Speaking Up"
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The Marvels
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The rapper, whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, took the witness stand at the District Court of Western Australia on Monday - a week after the start of his trial.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
People in Hodeida heard explosions, with one witness saying the blasts sounded close to the port.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
My wife, a proud Austrian, felt it too and asked what it would be like not to witness this but to feel it—to stand in a section, for your own country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
On the witness stand in 2010, the Virginian-Pilot reported, Truelove said he gained 100 pounds in two months after doctors prescribed psychotropic medications.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Kok had a noble agenda: He wanted Bobby to continue his career, and he wanted to be a privileged witness to his games, as did almost all chess players.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
The Met urged witnesses or people with information about the incident to contact police on 101, quoting reference 1474/25July.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
As he approached the Alligator Hole swimming area, his vehicle slid off the road and became stuck on a mound of dirt 60 feet above a gully near Big Chico Creek, witnesses said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Prosecutors are expected to call at least four more witnesses during the preliminary hearing, which could last another three days, according to Los Angeles County Dist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
It reported that the court had rejected a defence request to call several of those politicians as witnesses, ruling that their testimony was "not necessary" for establishing the facts of the case.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Piecing together details from Agent Burger’s previous informants as well as from witnesses located by the undercover team, White was able to create a time line.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
If everything we just witnessed made one such war 0.2% less likely, FIFA’s $17.2 billion is the smaller number.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Her fellow hikers sang her happy birthday, and she witnessed a couple get engaged.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Despite some tepid reactions on the streets away from Midtown Manhattan, something of a World Cup effect has been witnessed at non-World Cup matches.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
Aimée thinks that Millennials in particular have so much nostalgia for catalogs because they were the generation that witnessed e-commerce overtake mail order.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
“There were lots of babies. And if I was listed as a witness and you were listed as survivors—that’s the only thing I’ve ever witnessed where government agents got involved like that.”
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
"We are witnessing an avoidable crisis that disproportionally hurts children," said Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
He ran because he came to believe that witnessing was not enough, that telling powerful people what he had seen could move them without changing what they did.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
There’s a difference, as one might expect, watching the newcomers interact and witnessing seasoned performers like Messrs. Simmons and Welliver play off each other.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Argentina's fans started the party long before kick-off and the atmosphere in the stadium was phenomenal as everyone realised they were witnessing history.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
Annabelle can hardly believe what she is witnessing, because the animal is actually in the air, like he’s been lifted by a tornado.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
