Link Centre Dictionary

witness

wit·ness

US/ˈwɪt.nɪs/ common
verb (2) noun (5)

verb

1.

be a witness to

2.

perceive or be contemporaneous with

  • “We found Republicans winning the offices”
  • “You”
  • “;”
  • “;”
  • “;”
Synonyms

noun

1.

someone who sees an event and reports what happened

Synonyms
2.

a close observer; someone who looks at something (such as an exhibition of some kind)

  • “the spectators applauded the performance”
  • “television viewers”
  • “sky watchers discovered a new star”
Synonyms
3.
4.

(law) a person who attests to the genuineness of a document or signature by adding their own signature

Synonyms
5.

(law) a person who testifies under oath in a court of law

Origin

From Middle English witnesse, from Old English ġewitnes, equivalent to wit + -ness. Cognate with Middle Dutch wetenisse (“witness, testimony”), Old High German gewiznessi (“testimony”), Icelandic vitni (“witness”).

Phrases

  • adverse witness
  • bear false witness
  • bear witness
  • character witness
  • crown witness
  • expert witness
  • eye witness
  • fact witness

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.