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

The majority of the meeting was off the record, so students could come forward and share freely. — Gloria Pazmino, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026

Instead, Cohen said the women who reported him immediately only wanted to ensure Weinberg couldn’t use the photos to blackmail them — and those who came forward later were likely motivated by monetary gain. — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) chimed in on the conversation, commending Doe for coming forward. — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026

The woman came forward in December 2024, in a civil lawsuit filed by Buzbee, accusing Jay-Z and Combs of raping her at a house party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, which were held in New York. — Lauren Wilson, NBC news, 25 Sep. 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