witness

American  

[wit-nis] / ˈwɪt nɪs /

verb (used with object)

• witnesses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• witnessed,
  past participle,  past
• witnessing
  present participle

1. 

   to see, hear, or know by personal presence and perception.

   to witness an accident.

   Synonyms:

   note, notice, mark, watch, perceive

2. to be present at (an occurrence) as a formal witness, spectator, bystander, etc..

   She witnessed our wedding.

3. to bear witness to; testify to; give or afford evidence of.

4. to attest by one's signature.

   He witnessed her will.

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verb (used without object)

• witnesses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• witnessed,
  past participle,  past
• witnessing
  present participle

1. to bear witness; testify; give or afford evidence.

noun

• witnesses
  plural

1. an individual who, being present, personally sees or perceives a thing; a beholder, spectator, or eyewitness.

2. a person or thing that affords evidence.

3. a person who gives testimony, as in a court of law.

4. a person who signs a document attesting the genuineness of its execution.

5. testimony or evidence.

   to bear witness to her suffering.

   Synonyms:

   substantiation, confirmation, proof

6. (initial capital letter) a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

witness British  

/ ˈwɪtnɪs /

noun

1. a person who has seen or can give first-hand evidence of some event

2. a person or thing giving or serving as evidence

3. a person who testifies, esp in a court of law, to events or facts within his own knowledge

4. a person who attests to the genuineness of a document, signature, etc, by adding his own signature

5. 1. to give written or oral testimony

   2. to be evidence or proof of

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verb

1. (tr) to see, be present at, or know at first hand

2. to give or serve as evidence (of)

3. (tr) to be the scene or setting of

   this field has witnessed a battle

4. (intr) to testify, esp in a court of law, to events within a person's own knowledge

5. (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

• prewitness
  noun
• self-witness
  noun
• witnesser
  noun
• self-witnessed
  adjective
• well-witnessed
  adjective
• witnessable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• witnesses
  plural

Participles

• witnessing
  present
• witnessed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• witness
  simple
• witnesses
  simple
• have witnessed
  perfect
• has witnessed
  perfect
• am witnessing
  progressive
• are witnessing
  progressive
• is witnessing
  progressive
• have been witnessing
  perfect progressive
• has been witnessing
  perfect progressive

Past

• witnessed
  simple
• had witnessed
  perfect
• was witnessing
  progressive
• were witnessing
  progressive
• had been witnessing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will witness
  simple
• will have witnessed
  perfect
• will be witnessing
  progressive
• will have been witnessing
  perfect progressive

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

witness witnesses witnessed witnessing

Under cross-examination by Brand's barrister, Ian Winter KC, it was put to Dobson that in his witness statement he said that Russell Brand was one of few men he knew that women would swoon over.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Special Order 40 was aimed at reassuring the city’s immigrants that they could safely report a crime or serve as a witness without fear of deportation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

"City's difficulty is that the Commission heard extensive witness and documentary evidence but nevertheless made serious findings of sham arrangements and disguised owner funding."

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

I’d expected a similar spectacle at the theme park, or at least the charismatic witness of Bakker and his wife, Tammy Faye, whom I’d seen on television at political rallies and telethons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

And now, apparently, there was someone to witness it.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

"The Commission must have concluded that the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses put up by Manchester City were poor," Maguire said.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Gen. Rob Bonta said such arrests have long been barred because they are unconstitutional and deeply disruptive to the rule of law and the rights of victims, witnesses, defendants and other parties to court proceedings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Chief defence lawyer Sheila Sison called the ruling "completely unfair", noting prosecutors had already put 14 witnesses on the stand to lay out evidence against the vice president.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

Justice Department officials in Washington at the time wanted prosecutors to speed up their process, including by subpoenaing witnesses to testify directly before a grand jury, without any FBI interview first, they said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

Third, it is asserted that signs were ‘read’ as if they were texts and, consequently, no distinction was drawn between the evidence of clues and the evidence of witnesses.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Georgieva said she was "impressed" by the spirit of cooperation between AI companies, governments and other stakeholders that she witnessed in Bangkok on the issue.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

“Great Writers” paints portraits of the mewling kittens, dexterous mousers and lazy lap cats who happen to have witnessed the birth of some of humanity’s favorite texts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Alejandro Barraza, a criminal defense and immigration attorney, said he has witnessed the effect firsthand.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

The award-winning artist said she had "never witnessed bots on this scale" and was changing the process as it is "so important" to her that fans can buy tickets at the face value price.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Meanwhile, residents of Cape Town who had witnessed what had taken place succeeded in sending a rescue line from the shore to the ship.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

"We are witnessing a perfect storm that could throw tens if not hundreds of millions of people back into poverty."

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

Scholars have claimed that there is something very different about the visceral experience of witnessing the state putting someone to death and the experience of watching that happen on television or a video feed.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

“I believe we’re witnessing something that we’ll probably never see again. Her music reminds me of Björk, Aphex Twin, even Shakira — but it’s also incredibly fresh and original.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

"It's a beautiful moment. Seeing how far he has come and witnessing him achieve this feat made me incredibly proud and grateful to God," Uche Anumudu, one of those watching, told the BBC.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

Most of our “evidence” came from witnessing the conspirators at work.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

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Related Words

• attend
• mark
• note
• notice
• see
• watch

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