- 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
Some companies have pointed to the difficulty of complying with SEC rules as a reason to forego an IPO.
From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026
To the state they cited frequent turnover in adjusters and demands to sign legal papers agreeing to forego future reimbursement for personal items without itemized receipts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
In periods of renewed market volatility, investors who have not adequately diversified or hedged their portfolios may have to forego any immediate plans to retire.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 20, 2026
Perhaps, I thought, I should forego the nonsense of rhyme.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
That ultimately led to Sorsby foregoing his final college season with the intention of entering the NFL’s supplemental draft this summer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 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 should not be read as a call for movement building to the exclusion of reform work.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
This year, he has looked every bit that, but that does not mean a victory on Sunday is a foregone conclusion.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
It was probably a foregone conclusion that the six Mitford sisters would grow up to be women of distinct character, given their idiosyncratic upbringing in the English countryside between the two world wars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
When it comes to romantic comedies, it’s not where it’s going — that’s a foregone conclusion — but how it gets there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
But Miller’s refusal to bow out wasn’t a foregone conclusion, either.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
But forego, which means “go before,” has an e, as do its cousins foregone and foregoing. forward.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
In his Halloween paso doble showcase, he wore a clerical collar and forewent grease paint or creepy contacts, relying on wide-eyed expressions and a low-slung layer of fake fog to hide his relatively clumsy footwork.
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2025
While Hopkins and many of her generation forewent having children, she notes that women today show up for job interviews pregnant, take family leave and still get tenure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2023
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
Commerce for the time forewent its eminence, the soldier stepped to the front.
From Lincoln, the Politician by T. Aaron Levy
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
