come forward

phrasal 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

Members of the Advocate Group — former IHOPKC leaders who supported those who came forward with allegations and pushed for an outside investigation — were pleased with the new report. —Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 27 Sep. 2025

Nunan’s aunt and sister also continue to urge people to come forward with information. —Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2025

Two additional victims came forward, one who was 5-years-old at the time of the molestations, and one who was between the ages of 7 and 11 years old at the time of the molestations, authorities said. —Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 25 Sep. 2025

The change in reading curriculum comes forward as Fort Worth ISD awaits a decision from Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath on whether the district will be taken over by the state. —Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Sep. 2025

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