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

After months of uncertainty, two dignitaries from rival lands have come forward to press their claims. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 28 June 2026

She is unopposed in the Democratic primary and no Republican came forward to challenge her. — Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 26 June 2026

Police are asking anyone with information about the snakes, their possible owner, or who may have dumped them along the roadway to come forward. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026

Their teammates came forward for an arguing match before the ref pulled out the yellow to get things under control. — Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 25 June 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