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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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:
She would likely have to wait until around age 75 to break even by delaying to FRA, since she would forgo roughly $54,000 in early benefits by waiting from 62 to 67.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 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
Other cost-cutting measures were also announced, such as deferring wage increases until 2035 and having senior executives forgo base salary increases in 2027 and 2028.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
The U.S. got the United Arab Emirates to agree to forgo making nuclear fuel with the caveat that if Washington afforded any neighbor more-generous terms, the U.A.E. could renegotiate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 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
Typically wearing a traditional Caribbean shirt, Cepeda forgoes a tie, which he considers a symbol of oligarchy.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
Substrate’s lithography process forgoes what’s known as multi-patterning, or doing repeated exposures on a wafer to make ever-smaller features.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
But despite its bristly concept, “The End” largely forgoes any direct images of annihilation, settling into a vast underground bunker with seemingly endless resources well after most humans have perished.
From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2024
Apple TV+’s “Sugar,” like “Monsieur Spade,” forgoes the shadow world of black-and-white noir to surround private eye John Sugar in the warm light of Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2024
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
Some background on how I came into possession of the Mantis Overland: For years, I’ve looked askance at #vanlifers and friends who have forwent traditional camping for tow-along trailers or RVs.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 23, 2021
The reaction back home forwent most of the five stages of grief and focused simply on the anger.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 16, 2020
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 corporate move could cost Washington state up to $750 million in forgone tax revenue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
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
Any forgone tax revenues now would affect our own government, which builds our roads and pays for our defense, education, etc.
From Slate ● Apr. 1, 2025
Couldn’t he have forgone a weekend in Vegas?
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
The Energy Department agreed to formal stipulations in exchange for the plaintiffs forgoing the discovery process, which likely would have meant officials would be deposed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 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
For countries like the U.S., most of Europe, Japan and China, demand destruction involves airlines canceling some routes, or consumers forgoing a vacation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
Hedging still makes sense, as does defining risk without forgoing potential rewards.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
For ten days following his father’s death, he and his mother and Sonia eat a mourner’s diet, forgoing meat and fish.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
