eyewitness
n.someone who sees an event happen with their own eyes, especially a crime or an accident. You use this when someone can describe exactly what they saw to the police or in court.
n.a person who has personally seen an event, such as a crime or accident, and can describe it. Often used in legal or journalistic contexts to establish factual evidence.
“The police are looking for an eyewitness to the crash.”
“An eyewitness reported seeing a blue car speeding away from the scene immediately after the alarm went off.”
“Legal experts often caution that eyewitness testimony can be surprisingly unreliable, as stress and the passage of time can significantly alter a person's memory of a traumatic event.”
Commonly used as a modifier in the compound 'eyewitness testimony' or 'eyewitness account'.
“They kept the other doors locked because they feared we would come to see our children too often." Several eyewitnesses have claimed duty staff were not around.”
“Eyewitnesses and the loved ones of those endangered are top of the interview list, to keep the sense of danger and emotional stakes at the top of everyone’s mind.”
From eye + witness.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.