eyewitness

noun

eye·​wit·​ness ˈī-ˈwit-nəs How to pronounce eyewitness (audio)
Synonyms of eyewitnessnext
: one who sees an occurrence or an object
especially : one who gives a report of what has happened

Examples of eyewitness in a Sentence

The police are hoping to locate an eyewitness to the shooting. He was able to give an eyewitness account of the shooting.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The people in the video matched the descriptions eyewitnesses to the shooting, many of whom were school students, gave to Louisville police, Skaggs said. — Monroe Trombly, Louisville Courier Journal, 2 Sep. 2026 National Geographic says the project combines eyewitness testimony with data visualization tools to create an immersive storytelling experience centered on loss, resilience, survival and hope. — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026 But Michael Sanft, Davis’ defense lawyer, argued that the prosecution had no forensics, no eyewitness and not a single shred of physical evidence placing Davis in the Cadillac with the shooter. — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026 One of the few leads in the killing of Wallace were eyewitness reports that shots had been fired from a Chevrolet Impala, and Davis was known to drive one. — Andy Rose, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for eyewitness

Word History

First Known Use

1539, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of eyewitness was in 1539

Rhymes for eyewitness

See All Rhymes for eyewitness

Browse Nearby Words

eyewinker
eyewitness
eyewort
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Eyewitness.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eyewitness. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Kids Definition

eyewitness

noun
eye·​wit·​ness -ˈwit-nəs How to pronounce eyewitness (audio)
: a person who sees an occurrence and is able to give a report of it

Legal Definition

eyewitness

noun
eye·​wit·​ness
: one who sees an occurrence or object or sometimes experiences it through other senses (as hearing) and usually reports or testifies about it

More from Merriam-Webster on eyewitness

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