TOP

Definition of eyewitness noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

eyewitness

noun
 
/ˈaɪwɪtnəs/
 
/ˈaɪwɪtnəs/
jump to other results
  1. a person who has seen a crime, accident, etc. and can describe it afterwards
    • an eyewitness account of the suffering of the refugees
    Synonyms witnesswitnessobserver onlooker passer-by bystander eyewitnessThese are all words for a person who sees something happen.witness a person who sees something happen and is able to describe it to other people; a person who gives evidence in a court of law:
    • Police have appealed for witnesses to the accident.
    observer a person who sees something happen:
    • According to observers, the plane exploded shortly after take-off.
    onlooker a person who watches something that is happening but is not involved in it:
    • A crowd of onlookers gathered at the scene of the crash.
    passer-by a person who is going past somebody/​something by chance, especially when something unexpected happens:
    • Police asked passers-by if they had witnessed the accident.
    bystander a person who is near and can see what is happening when something such as an accident or fight takes place:
    • Three innocent bystanders were killed in the crossfire.
    eyewitness a person who has seen a crime or accident and can describe it afterwards.
    Patterns
    • a witness/​an observer/​an onlooker/​a passer-by/​a bystander/​an eyewitness sees something
    • an observer/​an onlooker/​a passer-by/​a bystander witnesses something
    see also witness
    Extra Examples
    • Police are comparing two eyewitness accounts of the events.
    • One eyewitness saw the gunmen leave the building.
    Topics Crime and punishmentb2
    Oxford Collocations DictionaryEyewitness is used before these nouns:
    • account
    • identification
    • report
    See full entry
See eyewitness in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee eyewitness in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

Other results

All matches
halfway
adverb
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
C1
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day