Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

3 N‑COUNT A witness is someone who appears in a court of law to say what they know about a crime or other event. □  In the next three or four days, eleven witnesses will be called to testify. [Also + for ]

4 N‑COUNT A witness is someone who writes their name on a document that you have signed, to confirm that it really is your signature.

5 VERB If someone witnesses your signature on a document, they write their name after it, to confirm that it really is your signature. □ [V n] Ask a friend to witness your signature.

6 VERB If you say that a place, period of time, or person witnessed a particular event or change, you mean that it happened in that place, during that period of time, or while that person was alive. □ [V n] India has witnessed many political changes in recent years.

7 PHRASE If a person or thing bears witness to something, they show or say that it exists or happened. [FORMAL ] □  Many of these poems bear witness to his years spent in India and China. COLLOCATIONS witness NOUN 3

noun + witness : defence, prosecution

adjective + witness : credible, reliable, unreliable; expert, key

verb + witness : call, summon; cross-examine, interview, question VERB 2

witness+ noun : accident, event, incident

witness+ adverb : first-hand

wi t|ness box N‑SING The witness box in a court of law is the place where people stand or sit when they are giving evidence. [BRIT ] in AM, use witness stand

wi t|ness stand N‑SING The witness stand is the same as witness box . [AM ]

wit|ter /w I tə ^r / (witters , wittering , wittered ) VERB If you say that someone is wittering about something, you mean that they are talking a lot about things that you think are silly and boring. [BRIT , INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ [V + about ] They just sat there wittering about what lectures they had tomorrow. [Also V ] ● PHRASAL VERB Witter on means the same as witter . □ [V P + about ] They started wittering on about their last trip to Provence. [Also V P ]

wit|ti|cism /w I t I s I zəm/ (witticisms ) N‑COUNT A witticism is a witty remark or joke. [FORMAL ]

wit|ting|ly /w I t I ŋli/ ADV [usu ADV with v, oft ADV adj] If you do something wittingly , you are fully aware of what you are doing and what its consequences will be. [FORMAL ] □  The private sector would never wittingly expose itself to substantial risk.

wit|ty /w I ti/ (wittier , wittiest ) ADJ Someone or something that is witty is amusing in a clever way. □  His plays were very good, very witty. □  He is a very witty speaker.

wives /wa I vz/ Wives is the plural of wife .

wiz|ard /w I zə ^r d/ (wizards )

1 N‑COUNT In legends and fairy stories, a wizard is a man who has magic powers.

2 N‑COUNT If you admire someone because they are very good at doing a particular thing, you can say that they are a wizard . [APPROVAL ] □  …a financial wizard.

3 N‑COUNT A wizard is a computer program that guides you through the stages of a particular task. [COMPUTING ] □  Wizards and templates can help you create brochures, calendars, and Web pages.

wiz|ard|ry /w I zə ^r dri/ N‑UNCOUNT You can refer to a very clever achievement or piece of work as wizardry , especially when you do not understand how it is done. □  …a piece of technical wizardry.

wiz|ened /w I z ^ə nd/ ADJ A wizened person is old and has a lot of lines on their skin. □  …a little wizened old fellow with no teeth.

wk (wks ) wk is a written abbreviation for week . □  …6 wks holiday.

WMD /dʌ b ^ə ljuː em diː / N‑PLURAL WMD is an abbreviation for weapons of mass destruction .