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

With no one coming forward with a plan to renovate and reuse the building, the RDC plans to demolish it. — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2026

More than 350 Greenlandic Indigenous women and girls, including some 12 years old and younger, previously came forward to investigators and reported that they were forcibly given contraception by Danish health authorities. — Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026

Public support and warning A few county residents came forward to speak out in support of the moratorium but urged the county to move forward with caution to prevent any ambiguity. — Abigail Hasebroock, Sun Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026

No victims have been found or come forward following the incident. — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 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