- 1[intransitive, transitive] to make a statement that something happened or that something is true, especially as a witness in court testify (against/for somebody) She refused to testify against her husband. There are several witnesses who will testify for the defence. testify about something He was summoned to testify before a grand jury about his role in the affair. testify to something/to doing something Evans testified to receiving $200 000 in bribes. testify (that)… He testified (that) he was at the theatre at the time of the murder. + speech ‘I was approached by a man I did not recognize,’ she testified. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbfalsely, truthfully, publicly, … verb + testifyask somebody to, call somebody to, call upon somebody to, … prepositionagainst, before, for, … phrasestestify in court, testify under oath See full entry
- 2[transitive] testify (that)… (formal) to say that you believe something is true because you have evidence of it Too many young people are unable to write or spell well, as employers will testify.
- 3[intransitive] (especially North American English) to express your belief in God publicly Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin testificari, from testis ‘a witness’.Extra examples A senior officer testified to the existence of police hit squads. He took the stand to testify at the trial of his colleague. Several witnesses have come forward to testify against her. She refused to testify against her brother. She was unwilling to testify before Congress. The basis for the perjury conviction was he had testified falsely under oath. The president’s former aides were called to testify at his trial. a Mafia member who was prepared to testify for the authorities Phrasal Verbstestify to
testify
verbBrE BrE//ˈtestɪfaɪ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈtestɪfaɪ//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they testify BrE BrE//ˈtestɪfaɪ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈtestɪfaɪ//
he / she / it testifies BrE BrE//ˈtestɪfaɪz//; NAmE NAmE//ˈtestɪfaɪz//
past simple testified BrE BrE//ˈtestɪfaɪd//; NAmE NAmE//ˈtestɪfaɪd//
past participle testified BrE BrE//ˈtestɪfaɪd//; NAmE NAmE//ˈtestɪfaɪd//
-ing form testifying BrE BrE//ˈtestɪfaɪɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈtestɪfaɪɪŋ//
Check pronunciation: testify
