witness box
4
4.2
- noun
- /ˈwɪtnəs bɑks/
- UK
:
estrado
- A deputy sheriff who acted as the judge's bailiff came over to the witness box, turned the microphone off, and adjusted its location.
- step into the witness box
The feds may have done it is because they don't want to put Virginia Robert Schufrey in the witness box lest she get something wrong.
- The feds may have done it is because they don't want to put Virginia Robert Schufrey in the witness box lest she get something wrong.
- The woman sitting in the witness box was presented with the printed page and asked to read it aloud.
- And they had two of them and just, and it was me on this witness box.
- And I had the I, I had the ability to actually leave the witness box and go and address the, the chores.
Examples
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Approach the witness box.
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Members of the jury, by law, you have to be able to see the witness box.
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Why did you speak up for him in the witness box?
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- Can you all see the witness box?
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Will you go back to the witness box?
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The woman sitting in the witness box was presented with the printed page and asked to read it aloud.
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You're aware that when you're in the witness box you will be sworn - and you will testify under oath?
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The lawyer asked the witness to stand in the witness box and share her testimony.
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During the trial, the judge reminded the jury to focus on the evidence presented from the witness box.
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As he entered the courtroom, he felt nervous about speaking in the witness box.
Synonyms
46
3.9
A raised place in a courtroom where a person tells what they saw
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an enclosed area in a courtroom where a witness sits or stands' is directly and compositionally derived from 'witness' (person who testifies) + 'box' (an enclosed small area); the noun+noun construction transparently denotes the box associated with the witness. The figurative use of 'box' for a small enclosed space is common and cross-linguistically accessible, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Witness box comes from courts where the witness (the person who saw something) sat or stood inside a small box or enclosed stand so everyone could hear their story. So today it means 'an enclosed area in a courtroom where a witness gives evidence'.