forgo
Americanverb (used with object)
-
forgoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
forwent,
past
-
forgone,
past participle
-
forgoing
present participle
verb
-
to give up or do without
-
archaic to leave
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
forgosimple
-
forgoessimple
-
have forgoneperfect
-
has forgoneperfect
-
am forgoingprogressive
-
are forgoingprogressive
-
is forgoingprogressive
-
have been forgoingperfect progressive
-
has been forgoingperfect progressive
Past
-
forwentsimple
-
had forgoneperfect
-
was forgoingprogressive
-
were forgoingprogressive
-
had been forgoingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of forgo
First recorded before 950; Middle English forgon, Old English forgān ; see origin at for-, go 1
Explanation
The verb forgo means to give up or lose the right to something. The word forgo can be traced back to the Old English word forgān, which meant to pass away or to die, which is sometimes referred to as "giving up the ghost." Perhaps it was this idea of relinquishing something that led to our modern-day use of the word forgo to mean to give up, waive, or forfeit something. For example, someone charged with a crime might decide to forgo the right to remain silent and instead confess.
Vocabulary lists containing forgo
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Dear Martin
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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:
Success requires a willingness to forgo bathroom breaks, a perfect sense of timing, and sheer luck that a train delay won’t derail a run.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Báez had dreamed of days like Saturday ever since the Cardinals drafted him in the second round and paid him $2.25 million to forgo his commitment to Vanderbilt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
“When you’re private, you can just say, ‘I want to do it this way,’ and maybe forgo a little bit of profit in order to achieve other things that are considered important,” Caro said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
And now for the bad news: If you don’t claim by 70, you permanently forgo any monthly benefits you could have received after turning 70 because delayed retirement credits stop at that age.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
What Doc isn’t saying: he still hasn’t gotten his mind around the fact that his top two debaters elected to forgo the actual debate rounds of the tournament and focus solely on advanced pairs argumentation.
From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone
Ms. Bush makes some rookie errors: She forgoes whisking dry ingredients separately from the wet, doesn’t let the steaming butter cool before mixing, and is too quick to take the pan out of the oven.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Typically wearing a traditional Caribbean shirt, Cepeda forgoes a tie, which he considers a symbol of oligarchy.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
“EPiC” wisely forgoes talking heads in favor of keeping the camera’s gaze on Elvis, though the film is narrated with excerpts from a previously unheard interview in which Presley discusses his life and career.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026
"Jedha, Kyber, Erso," the last ever episode of “Andor,” forgoes conventional finality to bridge the series with the movie that inspired it, 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”
From Salon ● May 17, 2025
She forgoes all of the usual motel thrills, like unwrapping the soaps and hunting for the Bible.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Petrobras said the war significantly affected its export markets, as Asian buyers received Russian crude that European and North American buyers forwent.
From Reuters ● Jul. 28, 2022
But last year, the company forwent a single choice and instead highlighted the pandemic’s sudden and pervasive influence on the language more broadly.
From New York Times ● Oct. 31, 2021
Five-star defensive end Korey Foreman forwent Clemson last offseason.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 2, 2021
Chau avoided romantic entanglement, believing it irresponsible given the risks of his mission to North Sentinel, and forwent full-time employment in order to focus on preparing.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 3, 2019
I forwent Supper and walked by the shore of the Charles until I could see Boston.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
The forgone wages and benefits of these retirees add up to an estimated $201 billion annually and the loss of payroll contributions represents a $356 million hit to federal tax revenue, Implan estimates.
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
The prosecution added that it was not a forgone conclusion the defendants would be deported following these convictions.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
Kaegi, a former fund manager who has written large checks to his own campaigns, has forgone donations from lawyers or major property owners, as have two of the three members of the Board of Review.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
Courts also said it was questionable whether the forgone fitness hearing, as his trial lawyer suggested, would have resulted in any action.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2025
It was later, after another dinner of plain white rice had been consumed and tea forgone again on account of the drought, after Rasheed had smoked a cigarette, that he told Laila about his decision.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
Are they buying fewer types of green ingredients in particular or just forgoing certain places and brands altogether?
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
It would have also meant the government forgoing a contractual right to sue Damen Navel for damages, the ministry added.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
She knew the risks of forgoing pasteurization, but the site eased her concerns: It said the farm tested its milk and had never found a single pathogen.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
By forgoing the front cab, Humble Robotics could face additional regulatory hurdles, said Dan Sperling, founding director emeritus of the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
I found Hamlet's conclusion unjust, and forgoing my modest manner, I spoke boldly.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
