default

[ dih-fawlt, dee-fawlt ]

noun

1. failure to act; inaction or neglect:

   They lost their best client by sheer default.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. lack; want; absence:

   For default of anything better, he took a job washing dishes.

7. 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

1. 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.

2. 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)

1. 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.

2. to fail in fulfilling or satisfying an engagement, claim, or obligation:

   They said they would pick me up, but defaulted at the last minute.

3. Law. to fail to appear in court:

   One of the key witnesses defaulted.

4. Sports.
   1. to fail to participate in or complete a scheduled game, race, etc.:

      I only placed in that race because my chief rival defaulted.

   2. to lose a scheduled game, race, etc., by default.
5. to behave or respond in a certain way automatically, habitually, or by preference (usually followed by to ):

   It seems that in your relationships you default to being a caregiver instead of a partner.

6. 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 by to ):

   Your profile defaults to public unless you set the permissions to private.

verb (used with object)

1. to fail to perform or pay:

   to default a debt.

2. to declare to be in default, especially legally:

   The judge defaulted the defendant.

3. Law. to lose by failure to appear in court.
4. Sports.
   1. to fail to compete in (a scheduled game, race, etc.).
   2. to lose by default.

default

/ dɪˈfɔːlt /

noun

1. a failure to act, esp a failure to meet a financial obligation or to appear in a court of law at a time specified
2. absence or lack
3. by default
   in the absence of opposition or a better alternative

   he became prime minister by default

4. in default of
   through or in the lack or absence of
5. judgment by default
   law a judgment in the plaintiff's favour when the defendant fails to plead or to appear
6. lack, want, or need
7. alsoˈdiːfɔːlt computing
   1. the preset selection of an option offered by a system, which will always be followed except when explicitly altered
   2. ( as modifier )

      default setting

verb

1. intr; often foll by on or in to fail to make payment when due
2. intr to fail to fulfil or perform an obligation, engagement, etc

   to default in a sporting contest

3. law to lose (a case) by failure to appear in court
4. tr to declare that (someone) is in default

default

1. Failure to pay a debt when it is due.

Other Words From

• non·de·fault·ing adjective noun
• pre·de·fault noun verb
• un·de·fault·ed adjective
• un·de·fault·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of default¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English defau(l)te, from Anglo-French defalte, Old French defaute, from defaillir, modeled on faute, faillir; equivalent to de- + fault

Word History and Origins

Origin of default¹

C13: from Old French defaute, from defaillir to fail, from Vulgar Latin dēfallīre (unattested) to be lacking

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in default of, for lack or want of; in the absence of:

   In default of male heirs, his daughters inherited his property.

More idioms and phrases containing default

see in default of .

Example Sentences

It is the default engine in Chrome as well as on many smartphone browsers, including Safari on iPhones.

From BBC

By default, Roblox users under the age of nine will only be able to access "minimal" or "mild" experiences - but parents can allow them to play "moderate" games by giving consent.

From BBC

In 2022, the country defaulted on its foreign debt for the first time, forcing it to seek debt restructuring deals.

From BBC

Rumors of Freevee’s demise spread after the company made the new ad tier the default for Prime Video users, but Amazon denied the speculation early this year.

From Los Angeles Times

Unmarried partners aren’t necessarily the default, so if you want them to be, naming them here is crucial.

From Salon

Related Words

• delinquency
• nonpayment

More About Default

What does default mean in loans?

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.

Examples of default in a sentence

“Borrowers pay interest to lenders to compensate them for the use of borrowed funds, and as a safeguard against the borrower defaulting on the loan.”
—”What Is A Good Interest Rate?” Rocket Loans. Retrieved March 15, 2020.

“You may qualify for some types of credit or loan approvals using a co-signer or someone close to you who guarantees they will be legally responsible for paying back your debt if you default on the loan or cannot make payments.”
—”Bad Credit Is Scary: 5 Quick Strategies To Improve Your Credit Score” Rocket Loans. Retrieved March 15, 2020.

“Residential mortgage default is a complex event triggered by a host of household and socio-economic events. The recent collapse of the subprime market, coupled with the imposing downturn in the housing and broader economic markets has resulted in a rapidly expanding rate of mortgage defaults, many of which end in foreclosure and REO [real estate owned, that is, by the lender].”
—Allen C. Goodman and Brent C. Smith, “Housing Defaults: Theory Works and so Does Policy,” Introduction, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Diane Publishing: 2010.

Other terms connected with the topic of default

What are some terms connected to the topic of default?

• loan
• foreclose
• default risk
• credit score
• credit risk
• equity of redemption
• judgment note
• surety

More About Default

What does default mean?

As a verb, default most commonly means to fail to make a payment, especially on a loan.

It is also commonly used to refer to original, preset options, such as the default settings of a device or app.

Default has many meanings, but most of them involve the absence of something, such as a better alternative (especially in the phrase by default), or a failure to do something, such as make a payment or appear in court. When someone fails to make a payment on a mortgage or other loan, they are said to be in default. 

Example: There are no other candidates in the race, so he was declared the winner by default.

Where does default come from?

Default has been in use since around the 1200s. It comes from the Old French defaute, from the verb defaillir, meaning “to fail.” Defaillir derives from the Vulgar Latin dēfallīre, “to be lacking.” This is a good reminder that default typically refers to failing to do something or something that’s lacking.

When used in a financial context, default refers to a failure to pay back a loan, as in We’re going to default on our mortgage if we can’t make the payment by the end of the month. When this happens, a person is said to be in default. Less commonly, default can refer to losing a court case by failing to appear. The same meaning is sometimes used in sports, but the word forfeit is a more common way to say this.

The other common meaning of default has to do with the absence of something. When you fill out a form, it often has default responses that you can change—or leave as they are. When you get a new phone, it comes with default settings, meaning the preset, “factory settings” that you can then change and customize based on your preferences. Relatedly, default is used as a noun in the context of software to refer to a preset option or command that will be followed unless it is changed, as in please don’t alter the system defaults. Software will default (revert) to the defaults (presets) in default of (in the absence of) other options. The phrase in default of is commonly used in many contexts to refer to the absence of something, such as in the sentence In default of proper evidence, we could not charge the suspect with a crime. 

One of the most common uses of default is in the phrase by default, which means “in the absence of other options or better alternatives,” as in We have no other entries, so it looks like this one will win by default. It can also mean something like “as a natural or normal state,” as in I’m a calm person by default, so I don’t often get upset or angry.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms of default?

• nondefaulting (adjective, noun)
• predefault (noun, verb)
• undefaulted (adjective)
• undefaulting (adjective)

What are some synonyms for default?

• delinquency
• nonpayment
• absence

What are some words that share a root or word element with default? 

 

• fault
• fail
• fallible
• fallacious

What are some words that often get used in discussing default?

 

• loan
• mortgage
• payment
• failure
• preset
• option
• software

How is default used in real life?

Default is commonly used in the context of loans, mortgages, device presets, forms, and software. It is especially used in phrases like by default, in default, and in default of.

Realizing lately how easy it is to use they/them pronouns as a default to ensure folks feel comfortable. I’m not perfect but it gets easier everyday. Just saying.

— Roger Harvey (@xorogerharvey) March 5, 2020

Heroes born with a special power/heritage can be interesting, but it shouldn’t be every character’s default origin. https://t.co/Uoma7ASx7R

— Michael Terracciano (@mookiebean) March 5, 2020

"Philippa King, spokesperson for @DeHavilland said the company had filed a $42.9 million lawsuit for damages stemming from cancelled purchase agreements after @FlySpiceJet failed to take delivery of 19 aircraft and defaulted on several payments."

— Tarun Shukla (@shukla_tarun) March 19, 2020

 

 

Try using default!

Is default used correctly in the following sentence?

I reverted my phone to the factory presets and now I have to change all the default settings again.