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default

[ dih-fawlt, dee-fawlt ]
/ dɪˈfɔlt, ˈdiˌfɔlt /
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noun
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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Idioms about default

    in default of, for lack or want of; in the absence of: In default of male heirs, his daughters inherited his property.

Origin of default

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English defau(l)te, from Anglo-French defalte, Old French defaute, derivative of defaillir, after faute, faillir; see de-, fault, fail

OTHER WORDS FROM default

non·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. 2023

How to use default in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for default

default
/ (dɪˈfɔːlt) /

noun
verb

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

Cultural definitions for default

default

Failure to pay a debt when it is due.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with default

default

see in default of.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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