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
Alex GiddenThe young woman … had come forward after six months to accuse him of assault.—Jules De Cinque
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
Don Granese Examples of come forward in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Most recently, four additional women came forward in a New York cover story with allegations involving nonconsensual BDSM.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2025
The victim took a video of part of the incident and a witness came forward with a photo and license plate of both the suspect and the suspect vehicle.
—Nollyanne Delacruz, The Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2025
Chandler police released a sketch of the suspect and urged anyone who recognized the man to come forward.
—Olivia Rose, The Arizona Republic, 3 Jan. 2025
During Boeing’s difficult 2024, whistleblowers from within the company came forward with complaints about shambolic internal processes in the production of its 737 and 787 aircraft.
—David Hodari, NBC News, 3 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for come forward 
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Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2025
The victim took a video of part of the incident and a witness came forward with a photo and license plate of both the suspect and the suspect vehicle.
—Nollyanne Delacruz, The Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2025
Chandler police released a sketch of the suspect and urged anyone who recognized the man to come forward.
—Olivia Rose, The Arizona Republic, 3 Jan. 2025
During Boeing’s difficult 2024, whistleblowers from within the company came forward with complaints about shambolic internal processes in the production of its 737 and 787 aircraft.
—David Hodari, NBC News, 3 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for come forward
Dictionary Entries Near come forward
Cite this Entry
“Come forward.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%20forward. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal 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.
J. H. Friedenthal et al.coming forward with the evidence
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