Meaning & use
witness
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person who sees something happen, especially a crime or accident.
Grammar: Countable: a witness, several witnesses.
Patterns
- a witness to something
- an eyewitness
A witness saw the car leave the scene.
The police are looking for witnesses to the accident.
She was the only witness to the argument.
nouncountablelegal
A person who tells a court what they know about a case.
Grammar: Countable and often with call: call a witness.
Patterns
- a witness for the defense
- call a witness
The lawyer called a witness to the stand.
The witness gave evidence for two hours.
A key witness changed her story.
verbtransitive
To see something happen with your own eyes.
Grammar: Takes an object: witness an event.
Patterns
- witness something
- witness someone doing something
Hundreds of people witnessed the launch.
He witnessed the robbery from his window.
We have witnessed great changes in this town.
verbtransitivelegal
To sign a document to confirm that you saw it signed by another person.
Grammar: Takes an object: witness a will.
Patterns
- witness a signature
- witness a will
Two neighbors witnessed his signature on the will.
The clerk witnessed the contract.
You need someone to witness the form.
Word forms
| plural | witnesses |
|---|---|
| third person singular | witnesses |
| past tense | witnessed |
| past participle | witnessed |
| -ing form | witnessing |
Common combinations
- key witness
- The key witness refused to testify.
- eyewitness account
- An eyewitness account described the chase.
- witness statement
- Police took a witness statement.
- bear witness
- The ruins bear witness to the war.
- witness a crime
- She witnessed a crime on her way home.
- star witness
- The star witness impressed the jury.
Synonyms and how they differ
- observer
- Observer suggests someone who watches without taking part and is not tied to an official role.
- onlooker
- Onlooker describes a bystander at an event, not someone giving evidence.
- bystander
- Bystander stresses being present but uninvolved.
- spectator
- Spectator is for those watching a sport or performance.
Word family
- eyewitness noun
- a person who saw an event
- witnessed adjective
- seen by others
- witnessing noun
- the act of seeing or signing
- witness stand noun
- the place in court where witnesses speak
Commonly confused: witness or testify? witness or observer?
witness vs testify
Testify means to give evidence in court, but a witness may or may not testify.
witness vs observer
An observer is any person watching, whereas a witness sees something relevant to a legal or official matter.
Practice
The police asked anyone who ______ the accident to call this number.
Choose one answer.
The past tense witnessed fits because the accident has already happened. The other forms do not match the tense or grammar.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “witness”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.