- a variation of forgo.
forego
1 Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of forego
before 900; Middle English forgon, forgan, Old English foregān. See fore-, go 1
Explanation
If you forego something, you choose to give it up. If you forego dessert after dinner, you are skipping dessert. The verb forego (also spelled forgo) literally means “to go by.” In common usage it means “to abstain” or “do without.” You might forego smoking cigarettes as a New Year’s resolution. Forego can also mean “to precede,” or “go before.” This verb is often seen in its past participle form, foregone, in the phrase “foregone conclusion,” meaning a predetermined conclusion.
Vocabulary lists containing forego
The Constitution of the United States
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Vocabulary from the Constitution of the United States
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Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The best encounters with novels, Ms. Kanakia suggests, are those that forego line-by-line analysis or politically motivated allegory in favor of facing a reality that language can never fully contain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
But that’s not all: You would also forego anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000 in lost returns over the next 10 years, depending on how well the stock market performs over that period.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026
The Wall Street Journal reported External link over the weekend that SpaceX would forego a Mars mission in 2026, focusing on the moon instead.
From Barron's ● Feb. 9, 2026
“Alternatively, noncitizens may choose not to appear and instead to forego their opportunity to pursue their claims for asylum or other relief from removal.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 25, 2025
But, reconciled by his success, he yet refused to forego the privilege of criticiz-ing this order.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
What about the faintly ludicrous figure of the foregoing 100-plus minutes was supposed to make me care about his moral compass?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
The bigger issue is that investors who stuck with staples, foregoing bigger gains in hopes they would provide a smoother ride, have been sorely mistaken.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
You are foregoing any increases in the stock market over the term of the annuity — but also hedging your bets against a severe downturn in the market.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 9, 2026
He agreed with Secretary Vance that to oppose it “would be foregoing an option that we could exercise in the event a peaceful solution is not in the offing.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025
The foregoing investigation into the nature of the idea of Texas is put down as a prelude to my journeying across Texas with Charley in Rocinante.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
But Miller’s refusal to bow out wasn’t a foregone conclusion, either.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
In his telling, every meeting packs a punchline, conclusions are never foregone and suspense is rarely more than a page or two away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
If that makes the outcome seem like a foregone conclusion, it ain’t necessarily so, thanks to Labour’s laborious internal democratic process.
From Salon ● May 12, 2026
Game 1 illustrated that it’s more like a foregone conclusion.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
It had been a foregone conclusion on my father’s part and on mine that I would go on to there after high school for my bachelor’s degree.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
But last month, after Thiessen’s stepmother and father, who are in their 70s, came down with covid, Thiessen, his wife and their children, ages 7 and 9, forewent testing.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 10, 2022
But the Seahawks felt confident enough in Eskridge that they forewent their usual strategy of trading down for more picks.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 30, 2021
“Watchmen’s” Damon Lindelof, who won along with Cord Jefferson for writing for a limited series, also forewent the traditional award night tuxedo for a “Remember Tulsa ‘21” T-shirt and blazer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2020
The antipasti here are a must: During my most recent lunch, I forewent the tempting array of crudi for a delicious plate of grilled octopus and artichoke.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2017
Walláhi, if thy tale be more wondrous than that which forewent it I needs must reward thee with somewhat.
From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 14 by Sir Richard Francis Burton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
