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

Why do those who have met him not come forward to report it? —May 1, CBS News, 1 May 2026

Scores of former students have come forward with allegations of rape and molestation dating to the 1950s. —Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026

Law enforcement is warning Treasure Valley residents about ongoing large-scale credit card fraud and hoping more victims come forward. —Sally Krutzig, Idaho Statesman, 30 Apr. 2026

The sketch writer hopes someone with knowledge about what happened to Downer comes forward. —Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 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