to come forward
338
3.2
- phrasal verb
- /kʌm ˈfɔːrwərd/
- If anyone knows something about the case, they should come forward and share what they know.
- encourage people to come forward
- come forward to tell
- several have come forward
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Watch on YouTubeInterestingly, Lucien Smith himself has since come forward and kind of admitted it.
- Interestingly, Lucien Smith himself has since come forward and kind of admitted it.
- So hopefully more people can come forward and make this much more well known.
- And then the fact that we get them to come forward was just a miracle, quite honestly.
- OK, thank you for being here and thank you for coming forward and talking about this.
- She got those two female writers to come forward, and that was all her sourcing and reporting.
- You know, no one, no one came forward and said we were old.
- At that young age though, would you never come forward and tell people how you are feeling?
- I think witnesses, they see the dollar signs and they come forward.
- So this person said, well, it's time for me to come forward.
- And, and so, you know, a little prodding and they came forward and they and they told a great story.
- Then that curiosity creates space for his truth to come forward.
- I contacted Bohr and his group, but they wouldn't come forward with evidence to back up this claim.
- I said, I said, what is it going to take for Eric Lopes to come forward and give a statement on what happened?
- And I say, show me one astronaut, one astronaut who came forward and said it was all a hoax.
- But people have come forward, you know, that.
Examples
-
If you know anything, please come forward.
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On several occasions, participants were called on to come forward and demonstrate their teaching methods.
Academic text (1993) -
OK, thank you for being here and thank you for coming forward and talking about this.
-
So hopefully more people can come forward and make this much more well known.
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Basically we just want to give you a chance to come forward here and communicate with us.
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Finding people who are willing to come forward and talk publicly about their experiences.
Academic text (2005) -
I would now like to ask the Dickelspiel Award winners to come forward at this time.
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"Dig into your great resources and find a family that's willing to come forward."
Academic text (2005) -
"The woman who found Reverend Singletary's body came forward while you were gone," Joy Collins said, excited.
Fiction book (1990) -
After the incident, several witnesses came forward to provide crucial information.
Synonyms
500
2.0
To offer to help or do something without being paid
292
3.7
Take action and accept responsibility for a task or problem
99
3.1
Volunteer to help or take responsibility
6
2.7
To give someone support with a task or problem
1
7.0
To offer to take charge of a group or task
Raise your hand to show you want to take part
Antonyms
How Willing
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal sense 'move toward the front' is directly derivable from 'come' + 'forward', and this physical motion is commonly extended metaphorically to mean stepping up to offer help or information. Because the volunteer/offer sense requires mapping the spatial metaphor to a social action, it is partly predictable but not fully literal for a B1 learner, so it is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
The phrasal verb come forward gives a clear picture: someone comes out and steps forward into view to speak or help. So, it means 'to offer yourself' or 'to volunteer', especially to give information or help.