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:
“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
U.S. import duties generate $20 billion to $30 billion monthly, making the revenue difficult for a future president to forgo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 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
Not that the established tech CEOs are Luddites exactly, but their shareholders aren’t paying them to forgo any lever to protect their existing businesses against the AI tsunami.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Blanca had to forgo two of their meetings by the river in order for the young men to meet.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Typically wearing a traditional Caribbean shirt, Cepeda forgoes a tie, which he considers a symbol of oligarchy.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
It forgoes the sticky glaze in favor of a deep brown gravy that pools and clings.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 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
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
Cleveland forwent college, hitting the road soon after his high school graduation in 1999, and emerged as an exciting sideman, passionate about bluegrass’s history and quick-witted, too — “a good hang,” as Gill put it.
From New York Times ● Feb. 28, 2023
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
“We just didn’t want all that stuff,” said Bridget Rogers, 33, an event planner in Denver who forwent a registry when she got married last fall.
From Washington Post ● May 18, 2022
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 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
Heinz said his parents don’t know what he does, but wouldn’t be surprised because he has always been entrepreneurial, having forgone college to start his own business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 1, 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
Afraid to get out of bed, he sent the barber away, forgoing his morning shave.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
