default

Noun

1. The condition of failing to meet an obligation.
   • He failed to make payments on time, and he is now in default.
   • You may cure this default by paying the full amount within a week.
2. The condition of being an obligation that has not been met.
   • The deadline has passed, so the debt is now in default.
3. the original software programming settings as set by the factory
4. A loss incurred by failing to compete.
   • The team's three losses include one default.
5. A selection made in the absence of an alternative.
   • The man became the leader of the group as a default.
   • One of the darlings of the early vegetarian movement (particularly in its even sadder form, the cutlet), it was on the menu at John Harvey Kellogg's Battle Creek Sanitarium [sic], and has since become the default Sunday...
   • Overall the signage at NIE has the appearance being a top-down artefact driven by institutional policy with English set as the default language. - 2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New...
6. A value used when none has been given; a tentative value or standard that is presumed.
   • If you don't specify a number of items, the default is 1.
7. The failure of a defendant to appear and answer a summons and complaint.
8. A failing or failure; omission of that which ought to be done; neglect to do what duty or law requires.
   • This evil has happened through the governor's default.
9. Lack; absence.
   • one was dragging a great coat from the window, before which it had long hung as a blind, in total default of glass or shutters - 1820, [Charles Robert Maturin], Melmoth the Wanderer: A Tale. […], volume I, Edinburgh:...
10. Fault; offence; wrong act.
    • regardless of our merit or default - 1728, [Alexander Pope], “(please specify the page)”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin; London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC:

Verb

1. To fail to meet an obligation.

   1. (intransitive, law) To fail to appear and answer a summons and complaint.

   2. (intransitive, finance) To fail to fulfill a financial obligation.

      • to default on a loan
2. To lose a competition by failing to compete.
   • If you refuse to wear a proper uniform, you will not be allowed to compete and will default this match.

   Synonyms: forfeit

3. To assume a value when none was given; to presume a tentative value or standard.
   • If you don't specify a color, it defaults to red.
   • It defaults your application to Windows authentication mode, and if you want to use forms mode, you can just change it in the authentication section of the file. - 2002, Tony Martin, Dominic Selly, Visual Basic .NET at...

Wikipedia

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