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

"The mother is a witness to things also. So, who knows?" he said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

In a 1963 Canadian Parliamentary committee, for example, a witness from the chemical industry prominently cited it as reason chemical pesticides were required: to feed the approaching population explosion.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 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

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

The poxies were not here to fight but to witness his ultimate victory.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

During the first trial, Haney called several witnesses in an attempt to undercut the prosecution’s theory of the fire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

"Like everyone, we're examining social media associations, talking to witnesses, friends and colleagues," Victoria police commissioner Mike Bush told journalists.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

That includes signed statements from attorneys, doctors and witnesses that your late partner understood the new will when he signed it.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

The judge cited that as one reason for not allowing her to testify or introduce her own witnesses in the divorce trial.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

Quickly, Chip explained about the list of survivors and the list of witnesses, shoving the papers over to her so she could look for herself.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

For Professor Gareth Collins of Imperial College London, the discovery brings a satisfying conclusion to a controversy he witnessed firsthand.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026

“I never advised Kao to make a political contribution in exchange for official action. I never participated in, witnessed or had knowledge of any illegal political contribution.”

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

He had witnessed this psychology in action as Jackson’s photographer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

A BBC team witnessed one of several attacks in farmland near the Palestinian village of Abu Falah.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Then I rose up on my curtainless bed, trembling and quivering; and then the still, dark night witnessed the convulsion of despair, and heard the burst of passion.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Quality stocks, defined as those with superior profitability, strong balance sheets and predictable earnings, are witnessing a breakout in performance, he says.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026

"We are currently witnessing an El Niño event that is unprecedented in the historical record," Dr Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at Berkeley Earth, told the BBC.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 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

Having a brother with schizophrenia and witnessing how families navigate the legal system when dealing with mental illness has informed her approach.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Ophie was so rattled after witnessing this that she decided to give up her search for the rest of the day.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

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Related Words

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

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