come forward

verb

came forward; come forward; coming forward; comes forward

: to make the effort required to provide information, make a claim, volunteer, etc.

No one has yet come forward to claim the reward.

Essex Police is now appealing for anyone with information or dash cam footage of the crash to come forward and help with their inquiries.

—Alex Gidden

The young woman … had come forward after six months to accuse him of assault.

—Jules De Cinque

also : to become publicly known

While the case was dropped the prosecutor says if substantial evidence came forward this case could go to a trial in the future …

—Don Granese

Examples of come forward in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

During the investigation, a second student came forward and told detectives she had also been victimized by the suspect, Shih said. —Jason Green, Mercury News, 28 May 2026

On May 27, Harvard University Police said that another victim had come forward saying that they were approached by a man near Peabody Terrace. —Riley Rourke, CBS News, 28 May 2026

In the years after Argentina’s military dictatorship, many of the 500 children who had been stolen and raised under false identities began to come forward, looking for their families. —Sara Huston, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026

Just removing myself from an overthinking mind, and giving my heart permission to come forward with a healthier perspective, can make all the difference. —Chi Varnado, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2026

Rhymes for come forward

• carryforward
• equatorward
• henceforward
• straightforward
• thenceforward
• shoreward

Legal Definition

come forward

intransitive verb

come for·​ward

: to make a presentation of something to the court

—usually used with with

must come forward with materials to show that there is a genuine issue of fact

—J. H. Friedenthal et al.

coming forward with the evidence