default

Etymology

From Middle English defaut, defaute, from Old French defaute (“fault, defect, failure, culpability, lack”), ultimately from Latin de- (“away”) + fallo (“deceive, cheat, escape notice of”).

noun

1. (finance) 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. (finance) The condition of being an obligation that has not been met.
   The deadline has passed, so the debt is now in default.
3. (electronics, computing) 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 option for vegetarians – and a default source of derision for everyone else. December 15, 2011, Felicity Cloake, “How to cook the perfect nut roast”, in Guardian
   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 Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 6
6. (often attributive) 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. (law) The failure of a defendant to appear and answer a summons and complaint.
8. (obsolete) 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. (obsolete) Lack; absence.
10. (obsolete) Fault; offence; wrong act.

verb

1. (intransitive) 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. (intransitive) 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.
3. (transitive, intransitive, computing) 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 Work: Building 10 Enterprise Projects, page 346