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

After the initial embezzlement charges were announced, some of the victims discussed here came forward and met with the feds. —Steve Belanger, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025

The series will delve into the church’s practices, and allow victims to come forward with their experiences to bring further awareness. —Andrew McGowan, Variety, 23 Oct. 2025

Schiavo praised the suspect’s family for coming forward and preventing a potentially significant attack. —Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025

Everybody has the right to come forward and explain their situation. —Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 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