witness

1 /'wItnis/ noun

1 (C) someone who sees a crime or an accident and can describe what happened: Police have appealed for witnesses to come forward.

2 (C) someone in a court of law who tells what they saw or what they know about a crime: One witness claimed to have seen the gun.

3 bear witness formal to show or prove that something is true or that something happened in the past: The temples and theatres all bear witness to the city's former greatness.

4 (C) someone who is present when an official paper is signed and who signs it to prove this: witness to: a witness to a will

5 be witness to formal to be present when something happens, and watch it happening: We were witness to the worst excesses of the military.

6 (C, U) AmE a public statement of strong Christian belief, or someone who makes such a statement

2 verb

1 (T) to see something happen, especially a crime or accident, because you are present when it happens: Police are appealing to any driver who may have witnessed the accident.

2 (T)

a) to experience important events or changes because you are there when they are happening: We are now witnessing the break-up of the Soviet empire.

b) if a time or place witnesses an event, the event happens during that time or in that place: The 1980s witnessed increasing unemployment throughout Europe.

3 (T) to be present when someone signs an official document, and sign it yourself to show this: Will you witness my signature?

4 (T)

a) to be a sign or proof of something: the rise in crime, as witnessed by our overcrowded prisons

b) used to give an example that proves something you have just mentioned: Poor school grades don't prove much - witness Dana's amazing success in business.

5 (I) AmE to speak publicly about your strong Christian beliefs

witness to sth phrasal verb (T) to formally state that something is true or happened: Her principal was called to witness to her good character. | witness to doing sth: The driver witnessed to having seen the man enter the building.