bear witness

idiom

1
: to show that something exists or is true
+ to
His success bears witness to the value of hard work.
Rising ticket sales bear witness to the band's popularity.
2
formal : to make a statement saying that one saw or knows something
asked to bear witness to the facts
She was accused of bearing false witness at the trial.

Examples of bear witness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
While one fatality was confirmed at the start of the premiere, viewers bore witness to a far more shocking death by the episode's end. Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025 Thousands of regular Delta citizens bore witness to the baleen giant’s freshwater detour. Helen Harlan, Sacbee.com, 9 Oct. 2025 Only the paintings bore witness to her intense, solitary writing sessions, conducted in the studio by night, Stein flicking the pages of her notebooks with hardly a pause, until dawn birdsong disturbed her concentration. Francesca Wade, Air Mail, 4 Oct. 2025 Tempest ending explained In the final episode, Ok-seon kidnaps Mun-ju so that her daughter-in-law can bear witness to her life’s crowning achievement. Kayti Burt, Time, 3 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bear witness

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bear witness.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bear%20witness. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on bear witness

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!