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
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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 On July 27, Campbell was charged with three additional counts of indecency with a child after more victims came forward. Maven Navarro, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Aug. 2026 An investigation that followed would eventually lead to a number of the victims coming forward, Baughman said. John Annese, New York Daily News, 3 Aug. 2026 None of it would have come to light if that 12-year-old hadn't come forward. Shelley Bortz, CBS News, 31 July 2026 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 5 Aug. 2026.

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

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