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

Elliott provided no timetable for presenting her additional ethics ideas to the City Council, but they are expected to come forward in the next several months. —Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2024

Arlington police urge anyone with information about the fatal accident to come forward. —Jaida Joyner, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 June 2024

This matter is made even worse by the performative cultures within modern organizations that protect whistleblowers in theory, but not once a whistleblower comes forward to actually report. —Sherron Watkins, Fortune, 24 May 2024

In it, the person begs for anyone with information of her whereabouts to come forward. —Genna Contino, Charlotte Observer, 22 May 2024

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