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Definition of default
1 : failure to do something required by duty or law : neglect
2 archaic : fault
3 economics : a failure to pay financial debts was in default on her loan mortgage defaults
4a law : failure to appear at the required time in a legal proceeding The defendant is in default.b : failure to compete in or to finish an appointed contest lost the game by default
5a : a selection made usually automatically or without active consideration due to lack of a viable alternative remained the club's president by default the default candidateb computers : a selection automatically used by a program in the absence of a choice made by the user using the default settings
in default of
: in the absence of
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Examples of default in a Sentence
The defendant has made no appearance in the case and is in default.
You can enter your own settings or use the defaults.
Which font is the default in that computer program?
Recent Examples of default from the Web
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RTF stands for Rich Text Format and is the default file-name extension for Wordpad files.
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Yet the region’s default interim policy — leaving thousands in suffering and squalor for the next decade while bureaucrats try to build permanent housing — fails on moral, fiscal and public safety grounds.
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A recent Pew Research Center study on the implications of the rise of the internet of things showed experts saw tremendous growth ahead, as well as potential pushback from consumers who worry that smart devices will become the default.
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If your house is anything like ours, the default position for your kids is a reclining one that involves an i-Device of one kind or another.
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His advisers came together almost by accident and by default.
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Your location can be used to refine real-time traffic reports, tailor targeted advertising, or otherwise bolster the map vendor’s commercial imperatives, and this means that high-resolution tracking will invariably be enabled by default.
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Singer’s fund, which manages about $34 billion, is probably best known for a battle with Argentina’s government over that nation’s 2001 bond default.
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Mnuchin hasn’t publicly said when Treasury will run out of options to avert a default, but outside experts have estimated that the government probably won’t run out of money until September or later.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'default'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of default
Middle English defaute, defaulte, from Anglo-French, from defaillir to be lacking, fail, from de- + faillir to fail
default
Definition of default
intransitive verb
1 : to fail to fulfill a contract, agreement, or duty: such asa : to fail to meet a financial obligation default on a loanb law : to fail to appear in courtc : to fail to compete in or to finish an appointed contest; also : to forfeit a contest by such failure
2 computers : to make a selection automatically in the absence of a choice made by the user The program defaults to a standard font.
transitive verb
1 : to fail to perform, pay, or make good default a loan
2a : forfeit defaulted the gameb : to exclude (a player or a team) from a contest by default was defaulted from the tournament
defaulter
nounExamples of default in a Sentence
If the borrower defaults, the bank can take the house.
The program defaults to a standard font.
Recent Examples of default from the Web
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New state employees after Jan. 1, 2018, will default from the state pension plan to an investment plan, and employees will have nine months after being hired to elect a pension or investment plan.
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Among them is raising the debt ceiling to avoid defaulting on the nation’s bills, always a thorny political lift.
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Mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can now send home loans that default back to the banks that provided them, thereby inflicting losses on the banks.
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In more severe cases, when the patient can’t talk and doesn’t have an advanced directive or a medical decision-maker available, doctors default to the most aggressive care possible to keep them alive — CPR, intravenous fluids, breathing tubes.
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Education officials are in the middle of issuing new contracts to student loan servicing companies responsible for placing borrowers in affordable repayment plans and keeping them from defaulting on their loans.
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The suit says the bank granted four more extensions of the maturity date into 2016 -- first to Feb. 5, then to May 5, Aug. 5 and Nov. 5 -- but that the defendants defaulted on the debt.
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Thousands defaulted, and many lost their homes to foreclosure.
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Puerto Rico has already defaulted on its general-obligation bonds, the securities behind the lawsuit filed in New York state court.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'default'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of default
see 1default
DEFAULT Defined for English Language Learners
default
playDefinition of default for English Language Learners
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: a failure to make a payment (such as a payment on a loan)
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law : failure to appear in court
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computers : a setting, option, etc., that a computer uses if you do not choose a different one
default
Definition of default for English Language Learners
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: to fail to do something that legally must be done; especially : to fail to make the payments you must make on a loan, mortgage, etc.
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of a computer : to automatically use a particular setting, option, etc., unless you choose a different one
DEFAULT Defined for Kids
Definition of default for Students
: failure to do something especially that is required by law or duty If we miss the game, we'll lose by default.
Definition of default for Students
defaulted
;defaulting
: to fail to do something required He defaulted on repaying the money.
Law Dictionary
default
playLegal Definition of default
1 : failure to do something required by duty (as under a contract or by law): as a : failure to comply with the terms of a loan agreement or security agreement especially with regard to payment of the debt b in the civil law of Louisiana : a delay in performing under a contract that is recognized by the other party Editor's note: A party whose performance under a contract is delayed is not automatically in default. Rather, the law of Louisiana requires that the other party “put him or her in default” by a written or witnessed oral request for performance, by filing suit, or by invoking a specific provision in the contract. Moratory damages may be recoverable for loss caused by the delay.
2 : failure to defend against a claim in court (as by failing to file pleadings or to appear in court) — see also default judgment at judgment 1a
default
verbdefaulter
nounin default
: in the condition of having defaulted
Origin and Etymology of default
Anglo-French defalte defaute lack, fault, failure to answer a summons, from defaillir to be lacking, fail, from de-, intensive prefix + faillir to fail
Learn More about default
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See words that rhyme with default Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for default Spanish Central: Translation of default Nglish: Translation of default for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of default for Arabic speakers
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