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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
His mother, Tierra Mike, is also asking for people to come forward with information. Courtney King, The Enquirer, 12 Dec. 2024 People will occasionally email or express interest, but so far it's only been that one family a few months ago who came forward. Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024 Buzbee said thousands of people have come forward with claims against Combs, and that his clients hail from 25 states. Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024 Multiple women's golfers have come forward to praise and celebrate the LPGA's rule change on Wednesday that bars post-pubescent males from competing against females in pro competition. Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 6 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for come forward 

Cite this Entry

“Come forward.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%20forward. Accessed 21 Dec. 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 factJ. H. Friedenthal et al.
coming forward with the evidence

More from Merriam-Webster on come forward

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!