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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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.
