Forgo
verb 3rd person singular: forgoes | present participle: forgoing | past tense: forewent | past participle: forgone
Definition
To choose not to have or do something you want
Context Alive
It’s Friday evening and all your colleagues are heading to a restaurant to celebrate the end of a long week. You really want to join them, but you have an important exam tomorrow morning. So you decide to forgo the dinner and stay home to study instead, knowing you’ll thank yourself later even though it’s hard to say no right now.
Meanings
1 meaning 1 Choose Not to Have or Do Something You Want (Verb) — VERY COMMON Common ▼
This meaning is about giving up something enjoyable or useful by choice. Imagine a couple who decided to forgo their summer holiday this year, putting all that money toward buying their first apartment instead. This is forgoing something. You might forgo dessert after dinner because you’re trying to eat healthier, or a company could forgo short-term profits to invest in a bigger long-term project. Or picture a busy dad who forgoes his lunch break every day, using that time to pick his daughter up from school instead. The word carries a feeling of giving something up on purpose for a good reason.
Vivid ExampleWhen the family needed extra money to repair the roof, the teenagers offered to forgo their weekly pocket money for a few months, wanting to help out however they could. It wasn’t easy watching their friends buy snacks and go to the cinema without them, but it felt good knowing they were doing their part for the family.
Examples from the Street
“I’ll forgo dessert tonight — I’m trying to eat healthier.”
I’ll skip the sweet course this evening — I’m making an effort to improve my diet
“She decided to forgo the salary increase and take extra holiday instead.”
She chose to give up the pay rise and accept additional time off instead
“We had to forgo our holiday this year because of the budget.”
We had to sacrifice our trip away this year because of money
Common Patterns
forgo [something] → choose to do without something; voluntarily give it up
decide/choose to forgo → make a deliberate decision to go without
willing to forgo → prepared to sacrifice something
forced to forgo → have no choice but to give something up
forgo the opportunity/chance → pass up an opportunity
forgo a meal/sleep/rest → skip eating, sleeping, or resting
forgo a salary/bonus/payment → voluntarily give up financial compensation
forgo the pleasure/luxury of → do without an enjoyable thing
forgo [something] in favour of [something else] → give up one thing to choose another
Collocations
3 collocationsforgo the opportunity
choose not to take a chance
forgo dessert
skip the sweet course
forgo sleep
choose not to rest in order to do something
Example Sentences
12 examples
1
I decided to forgo my morning coffee and see if I could survive without it
I made the choice to skip my early cup and see if I could get through the day without one.
2
Many employees chose to forgo their bonuses so the company could avoid redundancies
Plenty of workers voluntarily gave up their extra payments so the business could prevent job losses.
3
She was willing to forgo a higher salary for a better work-life balance
She was prepared to sacrifice more money in exchange for a healthier split between her job and personal time.
4
They were forced to forgo their holiday after the car needed expensive repairs
They had no choice but to cancel their trip after the vehicle required costly fixes.
5
He forewent sleep for three nights to finish the project on time
He went without rest for three nights to complete the work by the deadline.
6
I’m going to forgo the pleasure of a lie-in and hit the gym instead
I’m going to sacrifice the enjoyment of staying in bed and go exercise instead.
7
She forewent university in favour of starting her own business at 18
She skipped higher education and opted to launch her own company at eighteen instead.
8
Many people have had to forgo luxuries like eating out just to cover their rent
A lot of people have been forced to give up treats like restaurant meals simply to pay for their housing.
9
The CEO forewent his salary for a year to show solidarity with struggling staff
The chief executive gave up his pay for twelve months to demonstrate support for employees going through hard times.
10
I wouldn’t forgo the opportunity to study abroad — it could change your life
I wouldn’t pass up the chance to learn in another country — it could transform your entire existence.
Learner Examples
★
Serious language learners are willing to forgo their free time in the evenings to practise speaking with native speakers
Dedicated students are prepared to sacrifice their leisure hours in the evening to have conversations with people who grew up speaking the language.
★
Some students forgo group activities to study alone, but they miss out on the benefits of learning from each other
Certain learners skip collaborative sessions to revise by themselves, but they lose the advantages of picking up knowledge from their classmates.
Phrasal Verbs & Idioms
0 items
Synonyms & Antonyms
7 items
Synonymsgive up
choosing not to have something
sacrifice
giving up something valuable
skip
deciding not to do something
do without
managing without something
Antonymsindulge in
allowing yourself something
take
accepting or having something
embrace
welcoming something eagerly