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
“Wear them with pride. And then...who knows? One day you may forego those striped pants for solid blue ones, just as Martina Crowe did today!”
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
It’s how budget carriers like Consumer Cellular can pass cost savings on to their customers by foregoing large-scale infrastructure buildouts.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 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
When I think of foregoing a baby for a comedy career, I think: What career?
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 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
By the time decision day came around, it was a foregone conclusion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
But Miller’s refusal to bow out wasn’t a foregone conclusion, either.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
France are favourites to win the World Cup, but these sides would definitely believe they could be beaten – and let's not forget this tournament has already proved there are no foregone conclusions.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 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
It was a foregone conclusion that Washington would be called out of retirement to head the force, but equally predictable that the aging general would delegate actual command to his former aide-de-camp.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
The former Rainier Beach star played at Yakima Valley College after graduating high school, but forewent a Division I career due to eligibility concerns and eventually joined the G League.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 25, 2022
“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
I’d read birth stories, for instance, from women who forewent the epidural and bragged that their children were consequently “so aware” and scored “perfect 10′s” on the Apgar.
From Salon ● May 7, 2013
I earned them and forewent higher-paying attorney jobs in the private sector.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 24, 2010
S—— forewent for a moment his amber mouthpiece to give us his experience and opinion.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 61, No. 376, February, 1847 by Various
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.
