witness
∞
2.3
- noun
- /ˈwɪtnəs/
- Specialized
:
testigo
- Were you a reliable witness?
- an expert witness
- witness testimony
- a witness testifies
The third thing is the use of cooperating witnesses that they actually coach.
- The third thing is the use of cooperating witnesses that they actually coach.
- It's because the biggest witness for the defense misfired.
- He's trying to commit witness tampering using his own phone.
- He's now testifying not as this pristine DEA witness, but as a felon.
- He wasn't a good witness, but part of my strategy.
- Then you never get a chance to cross examine any witnesses are That's true.
- Not possibly stress enough that this was the FBI star witness against Ray.
- No evidence, no witnesses, no murder weapon, no DNA.
Examples
-
I'd like to welcome our first witness, the distinguished Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency...
Fiction book (1992) -
But a lot of key witnesses were not called.
-
Your Honor, how can the witness answer that question?
-
Your Honor, I would ask you to direct the witness to answer my question.
Fiction book (1991) -
The court calls the next witness.
-
I'm the state's star witness.
-
We have no witnesses, no prints, no nothing.
-
At least one witness stated that he saw Till pay for his bubble gum without incident.
Academic text (2017) -
Cook began bringing forward a steady stream of witnesses to testify against the King.
-
During the trial, the judge asked the witness to recount what he had seen on the night of the incident.
Synonyms
23
4.6
A person with special knowledge who gives an opinion in court about a subject they know well
21
6.0
A person whose statement is very important to the main question in a court case
19
5.6
A person who speaks in court about another person's good character and honesty
1
6.3
A person who speaks in court to tell what they know
1
6.9
A person who gives evidence in court about what they personally saw or experienced
A person who tells what they saw or know under oath in a legal case
Compounds
59
3.9
A government program that keeps people who testify safe by moving them and giving new names
- Specialized
23
4.6
A person with special knowledge who gives an opinion in court about a subject they know well
- Formal
21
6.0
A person whose statement is very important to the main question in a court case
19
5.6
A person who speaks in court about another person's good character and honesty
12
7.3
A person in a Christian group that teaches the world will end soon and tells others their beliefs
- Jargon
7
7.3
A witness expected to speak against the side that called them and questioned by the other lawyer
- Formal
4
8.8
Saying false things in court on purpose after promising to tell the truth
- UK
4
4.2
An enclosed area in a courtroom where a person sits to tell the judge or jury what they saw
- Formal
1
8.7
A witness called by a party whose evidence is likely harmful and may be questioned more freely
- Jargon
1
6.9
A person who gives evidence in court about what they personally saw or experienced
How Cooperative
Surface Forms
Morphology
witness = wit (opaque) = wit + ness
Historically 'wit' + '-ness', but the legal sense 'person who gives testimony under oath' is not transparently derivable from those parts for most learners.
Etymology
Witness comes from the root wit 'knowledge', meaning a person who knows the facts; in law this became the word for someone who swears and tells what they know in court. So a legal witness is called to report what they saw or know under oath.