variants
or less commonly forego
forwent
fȯr-ˈwent 
; forgone
fȯr-ˈgȯn
; forgone
fȯr-ˈgȯn
also -ˈgän
; forgoing
fȯr-ˈgō-iŋ
-ˈgȯ(-)iŋ
1
: to give up the enjoyment or advantage of : do without
never forwent an opportunity of honest profit—
R. L. Stevenson
R. L. Stevensondecided to forgo dessert for a few days
2
archaic
: forsake
Examples of forgo in a Sentence
She is planning to forgo her right to a trial and simply plead guilty.
I'll forgo dessert tonight—I'm trying to lose weight.
Recent Examples on the Web
Yet, the Warriors weren’t willing to forgo extending him a qualifying offer ($7.9 million for 2025-26), the mechanism that keeps him restricted instead of unrestricted.
—Tony Jones, New York Times, 31 July 2025
Before the programs were established, around half of all Americans over 65 had no means of medical insurance, forcing them to pay hefty prices or forgo care entirely.
—Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 July 2025
Robert Sutton’s framework, originally published in a 2009 HBR article, ...
One of the responsibilities of leaders is to deliver bad news: that the company is pulling the plug on a beloved project, forgoing raises or bonuses, implementing return-to-office mandates—or even eliminating jobs.
—Por Daniel McGinn, Harvard Business Review, 25 July 2025
Left in her place is a cell phone, which a mysterious caller uses to tell Simone to forgo the police and come to an isolated location to save her daughter.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for forgo
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Tony Jones, New York Times, 31 July 2025
Before the programs were established, around half of all Americans over 65 had no means of medical insurance, forcing them to pay hefty prices or forgo care entirely.
—Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 July 2025
Robert Sutton’s framework, originally published in a 2009 HBR article, ...
One of the responsibilities of leaders is to deliver bad news: that the company is pulling the plug on a beloved project, forgoing raises or bonuses, implementing return-to-office mandates—or even eliminating jobs.
—Por Daniel McGinn, Harvard Business Review, 25 July 2025
Left in her place is a cell phone, which a mysterious caller uses to tell Simone to forgo the police and come to an isolated location to save her daughter.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for forgo
Cite this Entry
“Forgo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forgo. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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