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.
Related Words
See observe.
Other Word Forms
- prewitness noun
- self-witness noun
- self-witnessed adjective
- well-witnessed adjective
- witnessable adjective
- witnesser noun
Etymology
Origin of witness
First recorded before 950; (noun) Middle English, Old English witnes originally, “knowledge, understanding”; wit 1, -ness; (verb) Middle English, derivative of the noun
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.
Those documents are similar to many witness statements with unverified claims that were released by the government in January, raising questions about why they weren’t included with the millions of files made public.
The Nottingham Inquiry is continuing to hear evidence from more than 100 witnesses about the events that led to the attacks in 2023.
From BBC
"I witnessed that myself when I was in government, and I think that the institutional resistance of the Treasury remains," he added.
From BBC
Bearing witness means physically standing with the stranger, the Other, the victim — placing one’s body between them and the power of the state and its enforcers.
From Salon
AFP journalists witnessed some residents with suitcases in hand preparing to leave.
From Barron's
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.
