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

Their hope is that by speaking out, somebody somewhere will come forward with some information that gets them some answers. — Eileen Murphy, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026

Interlochen hired Sanghavi Law Office in 2024 to investigate abuse at the school after an alumna came forward about her experience in the 1970s regarding a longtime faculty member and administrator. — Ava Berger, NPR, 10 Aug. 2026

When his kidneys began failing, a fan who’d followed his work on the show came forward as a donor. — Jp Mangalindan, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Aug. 2026

The less shame there is, the earlier people come forward, and the more people who come forward, the less shame there is. — Sue Peschin, Forbes.com, 4 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