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default
[dih-fawlt, dee-fawlt]
noun
failure to act; inaction or neglect.
They lost their best client by sheer default.
Finance.failure to meet financial obligations, as when a borrower misses or stops making monthly loan payments.
A default on your mortgage can lead to losing the house.
Law.failure to perform an act or obligation legally required, especially to appear in court or to plead at a time assigned.
The judge dismissed the suit for default of the defendant.
Sports.failure to arrive in time for, participate in, or complete a scheduled game, race, etc..
So far the Cougars have had three losses, two wins, and one default.
a person’s automatic or standard way of acting or responding; go-to or reflex.
Her default is to argue about everything I say, unless she’s in a really good mood.
For default of anything better, he took a job washing dishes.
Computers.a value that a program or operating system assumes, or a course of action that a program or operating system will take, when the user or programmer specifies no overriding value or action.
adjective
being a person’s automatic or standard action, response, etc.; go-to.
Chocolate is my default choice for ice cream, but when I feel adventurous I’ll go for something more exotic.
Computers.(of a value, action, etc.) preset or preselected, unless the user or programmer gives other input or instruction.
The default contrast setting on this display is 50 percent.
verb (used without object)
to fail to meet financial obligations, such as payments on a loan, or to account properly for money in one's care.
After he defaulted twice, the bank foreclosed on the car.
to fail in fulfilling or satisfying an engagement, claim, or obligation.
They said they would pick me up, but defaulted at the last minute.
Law.to fail to appear in court.
One of the key witnesses defaulted.
Sports.
to fail to participate in or complete a scheduled game, race, etc..
I only placed in that race because my chief rival defaulted.
to lose a scheduled game, race, etc., by default.
to behave or respond in a certain way automatically, habitually, or by preference (usually followed byto ).
It seems that in your relationships you default to being a caregiver instead of a partner.
Computers.(of a program or operating system) to assume a preset value or take a preselected action unless otherwise instructed by the user or programmer (usually followed byto ).
Your profile defaults to public unless you set the permissions to private.
verb (used with object)
to fail to perform or pay.
to default a debt.
to declare to be in default, especially legally.
The judge defaulted the defendant.
Law.to lose by failure to appear in court.
Sports.
to fail to compete in (a scheduled game, race, etc.).
to lose by default.
default
/ ɪˈɔː /
noun
a failure to act, esp a failure to meet a financial obligation or to appear in a court of law at a time specified
absence or lack
in the absence of opposition or a better alternative
he became prime minister by default
through or in the lack or absence of
law a judgment in the plaintiff's favour when the defendant fails to plead or to appear
lack, want, or need
computing
the preset selection of an option offered by a system, which will always be followed except when explicitly altered
( as modifier )
default setting
verb
(intr; often foll by on or in) to fail to make payment when due
(intr) to fail to fulfil or perform an obligation, engagement, etc
to default in a sporting contest
law to lose (a case) by failure to appear in court
(tr) to declare that (someone) is in default
default
Failure to pay a debt when it is due.
Other Word Forms
- nondefaulting adjective
- predefault noun
- undefaulted adjective
- undefaulting adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of default1
Idioms and Phrases
in default of, for lack or want of; in the absence of.
In default of male heirs, his daughters inherited his property.
Example Sentences
That ended early this year, triggering the credit score crash for borrowers in arrears or default.
In a traditional parenting binary, the mom is often labeled the default parent.
This will be the first public glimpse of the paintings, locked away in bank vaults since 2008 after authorities seized them from a prominent businessman over an alleged loan default.
The NHS app will become the default method of communication for millions more patients in England and save the health service £200m over the next three years, the government has said.
The Treasury Department anticipates the country could risk default unless Congress raises the debt ceiling by August.
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Related Words
When To Use
Default is the failure to meet one’s financial obligations, for example, when a borrower misses or stops making monthly loan payments. Default on a loan can make it difficult to get loans in the future and may have other serious consequences.If a person defaults on a home mortgage, the bank may foreclose on the loan and take over ownership of the property, to sell it in order to recoup as much of the unpaid portion of the loan as possible.The term not only applies to individuals, but also to businesses and governments that cannot pay back their debts.Default can also mean failure to account properly for money in one’s care.
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.
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