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
But that’s not all: You would also forego anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000 in lost returns over the next 10 years, depending on how well the stock market performs over that period.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 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
Honnold has also, at times, been a somewhat polarizing figure in the climbing world, with some criticizing his decision to forego ropes and other protective equipment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2026
But, reconciled by his success, he yet refused to forego the privilege of criticiz-ing this order.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
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
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
According to Kady, who has gathered opinions in Cardiff Metropolitan University's gaming society, many people are foregoing social activities to afford new game purchases and subscriptions.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 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
Adams made high-degree-of-difficulty catches look elementary, like foregone conclusions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
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
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
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
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
“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
So they all forewent him and he entered till they brought him to the door of the Divan.
From Alaeddin and the Enchanted Lamp by John Payne
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.
