failure to do something required by duty or law, e.g. to pay debts or to appear in a court:
failure to pay debts
failure to appear at the required time in a legal proceeding
failure to be present; absence
an option or setting that has been pre-selected, e.g. in computing, and that remains in effect until it is overridden or cancelled
in computing, an option that has been pre-selected and that remains in effect until it is overridden or cancelled
(used before a noun) pre-selected and remaining in effect until overridden or cancelled
by default
in the absence of an alternative
She won by default since her opponent refused to compete
in default
guilty of non-payment of a debt or of failing to appear in court
in default of
in the absence of
[Middle English defaute, defaulte, from Latin defallere to be lacking, from de- + fallere to deceive]