default

[dih-fawlt]

noun

failure to act; inaction or neglect: They lost their best client by sheer default.

failure to meet financial obligations.

Law. failure to perform an act or obligation legally required, especially to appear in court or to plead at a time assigned.

Sports. failure to arrive in time for, participate in, or complete a scheduled match.

lack; want; absence.

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.

verb (used without object)

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

to fail to meet financial obligations or to account properly for money in one's care: When he defaulted in his payments, the bank foreclosed on the car.

Law. to fail to appear in court.

Sports.

to fail to participate in or complete a match.
to lose a match by default.

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.

Sports.

to fail to compete in (a scheduled game, race, etc.).
to lose by default.

Law. to lose by failure to appear in court.

Origin of default

1175–1225; Middle English defau(l)te < Anglo-French defalte, Old French defaute, derivative of defaillir, after faute, faillir. See de-, fault, fail

Related formsnon·de·fault·ing, adjective, nounpre·de·fault, noun, verbun·de·fault·ed, adjectiveun·de·fault·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for defaulted

delinquency, nonpayment, evade, omission, privation, lack, defect, dearth, deficiency, dereliction, shortcoming, offense, miss, inadequacy, imperfection, absence, wrongdoing, oversight, slight, weakness

Examples from the Web for defaulted

Contemporary Examples of defaulted

The duo had defaulted on a loan from Textron Financial for $18 million.
It Was All a Dream: Drama, Bullshit, and the Rebirth of The Source Magazine
Alex Suskind
October 14, 2014
In 2011, 9.1% of borrowers had defaulted on their student loan within the first two years of the payment period.
Elizabeth Warren Wants the Fed to Get Into the Student Loan Business
Megan McArdle
May 9, 2013
His debate coaches warned him against it; but the fourth time he was asked about his experience, he defaulted to form.
How Mitt Romney Can Win the First Debate With Obama
Robert Shrum
September 25, 2012
With each passing quarter, more of the old loans are paid off, refinanced, or defaulted on.
Fannie Mae’s $5.1 Billion Second-Quarter Profit Attributed to Newfound Prudence
Daniel Gross
August 8, 2012
The Daily Beast: Do you realize you just defaulted to, “Some of my best friends are Jewish?”
Rick Sanchez Licks His Wounds
Adam Hanft
January 9, 2011

Historical Examples of defaulted

The pretence for this was that Forney had defaulted $40,000!
Memoirs
Charles Godfrey Leland
He defaulted for a considerable sum, and has been in quod for four years.
Real Life In London, Volumes I. and II.
Pierce Egan
In 1982, Mexico defaulted on the interest payments of its international debts.
After the Rain
Sam Vaknin
The following year he defaulted in an assessment for the same amount.
Summer Days in Shakespeare Land
Charles G. Harper
“It must be Pendleton who has defaulted,” said Judge Chalmers.
The Valiants of Virginia
Hallie Erminie Rives

British Dictionary definitions for defaulted

default

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

by default in the absence of opposition or a better alternativehe became prime minister by default

in default of through or in the lack or absence of

judgment by default law a judgment in the plaintiff's favour when the defendant fails to plead or to appear

lack, want, or need

(also ˈdiːfɔːlt) 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, etcto default in a sporting contest

law to lose (a case) by failure to appear in court

(tr) to declare that (someone) is in default

Word Origin for default

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for defaulted

default

late 14c., "be lacking, be missing," also "become weak," from default (n.). Related: Defaulted; defaulting.

default

early 13c., "offense, crime, sin," later (late 13c.) "failure, failure to act," from Old French defaute (12c.) "fault, defect, failure, culpability, lack, privation," from Vulgar Latin *defallita "a deficiency or failure," past participle of *defallere, from Latin de- "away" (see de-) + fallere "to deceive, to cheat; to put wrong, to lead astray, cause to be mistaken; to escape notice of, be concealed from" (see fail (v.)). The financial sense is first recorded 1858; the computing sense is from 1966.

defaulted in Culture

default

Failure to pay a debt when it is due.

Idioms and Phrases with defaulted

default

see in default of.