eyewitness
noun
eye·wit·ness ˈī-ˈwit-nəs 
: one who sees an occurrence or an object
especially : one who gives a report on what he or she has seen
Example Sentences
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 Among them was an out-of-town relative who became a key eyewitness in the shooting, Kelly said. 
Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 7 Sep. 2022 Of the organization’s 239 victories, 64 percent involved eyewitness misidentification; 52 percent contained unvalidated forensic science; and 27 percent included false confessions. Safire R. Sostre, Essence, 7 Sep. 2022 The military said he may have been struck by gunfire from Palestinian militants during clashes that broke out during the raid, but a Palestinian eyewitness said there were no militants in the immediate area. Jelal Hassan, ajc, 19 Aug. 2022 The case presented by the prosecution relied on eyewitness testimony as there was no DNA evidence that linked Carey to the scene of the crime. Fox News, 30 June 2022 Captivated and curious, Hughes collected more eyewitness stories from that evening. Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 15 Aug. 2022 Instead, eyewitness accounts in the SIGAR report paint a picture of a collapsing government in which officials were in a frenzied free-for-all to get as much money as possible on their way to the exits. Gerald Posner, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022 Gilleon said that runs counter to eyewitness statements that Wilkins appeared to slip from the railing, not jump. Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Aug. 2022 Their eyewitness corroboration—along with the first photographs of a milky sea—show that these satellites are indeed a powerful tool for spotting these events. K.e.d. Coan, Ars Technica, 30 July 2022 See More
Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 7 Sep. 2022 Of the organization’s 239 victories, 64 percent involved eyewitness misidentification; 52 percent contained unvalidated forensic science; and 27 percent included false confessions. Safire R. Sostre, Essence, 7 Sep. 2022 The military said he may have been struck by gunfire from Palestinian militants during clashes that broke out during the raid, but a Palestinian eyewitness said there were no militants in the immediate area. Jelal Hassan, ajc, 19 Aug. 2022 The case presented by the prosecution relied on eyewitness testimony as there was no DNA evidence that linked Carey to the scene of the crime. Fox News, 30 June 2022 Captivated and curious, Hughes collected more eyewitness stories from that evening. Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 15 Aug. 2022 Instead, eyewitness accounts in the SIGAR report paint a picture of a collapsing government in which officials were in a frenzied free-for-all to get as much money as possible on their way to the exits. Gerald Posner, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022 Gilleon said that runs counter to eyewitness statements that Wilkins appeared to slip from the railing, not jump. Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Aug. 2022 Their eyewitness corroboration—along with the first photographs of a milky sea—show that these satellites are indeed a powerful tool for spotting these events. K.e.d. Coan, Ars Technica, 30 July 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1539, in the meaning defined above
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
eyewitness
noun
as in witness
a person who sees something happen and is able to describe it The police are hoping to locate an eyewitness to the shooting. Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- witness
- observer
- bystander
- spectator
- viewer
- onlooker
- spy
- watcher
- voyeur
- peeper