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:
People in Hodeida heard explosions, with one witness saying the blasts sounded close to the port.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
This new tradition, which allows many more people to witness our quadrennial peaceful transfer of power, started with Reagan’s 1981 inauguration, by which time Moynihan was a Democratic senator from New York.
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
"Wooden boats have served their time, but they cannot be the future of water transport in Nigeria. The tragic mishaps we continue to witness are a direct consequence of the continued reliance on unsafe vessels."
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
The soldier sent for George Mudd but, as a witness, George Mudd was useless.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
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
The preliminary hearing is expected to last several days, with prosecutors planning to call additional witnesses as they seek to establish enough evidence for the case to move to a jury trial.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Officers have appealed for witnesses and footage of the crash.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The man had also been driving a vehicle shortly before the incident, witnesses said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Dozens of witnesses say a woman named Fannie Sellins herded a group of children toward safety behind the Rafalko family’s backyard gate.
From "Fannie Never Flinched" by Mary Cronk Farrell
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
Police are urging anyone who may have witnessed the collision to come forward.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
I’d heard about the dead calling for their loved ones in cemeteries late at night, but I’d never witnessed that, and I’d been in the Snapfinger Cemetery plenty of nights.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
It was like "witnessing something that is literally out of a movie", said Johnson, adding it was a miracle he was unscathed except for "some really nasty tinnitus".
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
"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
There are nearly 900 active blazes in Canada, with all but one of its 10 provinces and three territories witnessing fires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
We’re all witnessing the death or consolidation of corporate media, and there are very few outlets for the kind of comedy I like.
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2026
Though the entire country was witnessing the military enforcing integration in Little Rock, state and local authorities in Virginia pushed back nevertheless.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
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.
