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

New supporters come forward: 'Save and preserve Oak Flat' In addition to religious leaders, environmentalists and tribes, Apache Stronghold gained a new group of supporters. —Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic, 11 Sep. 2024

More recently IndyStar reported that more people are coming forward to the city’s HR department to share their previous experiences, and one city staffer was fired last week as the HR department conducts investigations into current and former employees’ conduct. —Hayleigh Colombo, The Indianapolis Star, 10 Sep. 2024

At this time, Swift, who publicly supported president Joe Biden in the 2020 election, has not come forward with support for either Trump or Democratic nominee and current VP Kamala Harris. —Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2024

Dozens more patients later came forward and filed lawsuits, bringing the total number of plaintiffs to more than 150, including nearly 100 patients. —Dave Collins, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 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