Standard Lemma guide

earwitness

noun · verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɪə̯wɪtnəs/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /-wɪtnɪs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈɪɹwɪtnəs/
  • General-American: /-wɪtnɪs/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A witness who provides evidence or testimony based on auditory observations.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To hear an event or incident directly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From ear + witness, by analogy with eyewitness.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: todistaja — witness who gives evidence of what he or she has heard
  • French: témoin auriculaire — witness who gives evidence of what he or she has heard
  • German: Ohrenzeuge — witness who gives evidence of what he or she has heard
  • German: Ohrenzeugin — witness who gives evidence of what he or she has heard
  • Hungarian: fültanú — witness who gives evidence of what he or she has heard