Default Meaning
/dɪˈfɒlt/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe condition of failing to meet an obligation.
nounThe condition of being an obligation that has not been met.
Sentence Examples
The system will revert to its default settings.
He won the match by default when his opponent didn't show up.
What do you use as your default browser?
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The bank reported a high rate of ____ on mortgage payments last quarter.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The system will revert to its ____ settings.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 2011 December 15, 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:
"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: […] Archibald Constable and Company, and Hurst, Robinson, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 156:
"regardless of our merit or default"
— 1728, [Alexander Pope], “(please specify the page)”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin; London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC:
"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:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The bank reported a high rate of ____ on mortgage payments last quarter.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The system will revert to its ____ settings.