Encyclopedia

default

Also found in: Dictionary, Legal, Financial, Idioms, Wikipedia.
(redirected from defaulting)

default

1. a failure to act, esp a failure to meet a financial obligation or to appear in a court of law at a time specified
2. judgment by default Law a judgment in the plaintiff's favour when the defendant fails to plead or to appear
3. Computing
a. the preset selection of an option offered by a system, which will always be followed except when explicitly altered
b. (as modifier): default setting
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

default

[di′fȯlt]
(computer science)
A value automatically used or an action automatically carried out unless another is specified.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

default

A substantive failure to fulfill a material obligation under a building contract.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

default

The pre-set value or action taken by software. Application programs have many defaults, including margin settings, font style, the printer that should be used and the folder name for saving files. Although pre-determined by the vendor, a default setting can be changed by the user (see settings).

Because a particular setting may affect how the hardware operates, there are also "hardware defaults." However, unless there are physical switches or levers on the equipment, the hardware default setting is configured in the software.

Default is also a verb. For example, "the program defaults to xyz," means that the program does xyz unless directed otherwise. See default browser, default folder, default drive, default font and default gateway.
Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
Mentioned in
References in periodicals archive
The ECP is required to notify the suspension of the defaulting legislators by 15th October.
Tabellini (1991) assumes that individuals cannot punish a defaulting government.
This approach considers that the recent history of credit migration and default data is most relevant when assessing the probabilities of defaulting. Comparisons are then made between the estimated proportions calculated with the cohort and the continuous-time generator approach.
2010: 140-160 defaulting issuers (9-11 per cent default rate)
running away, with a 72.9% likelihood of defaulting on its debt.
* For deals with weighted dollar average life of less than 7.5 years, push back the start of defaults as far as possible during the reinvestment period, while still defaulting the entire original dollar amount.
However, only 10.0 percent of issuers defaulting in 2001 were originally rated investment grade, well below the 20-year average of 13.1 percent.
The default rate is defined as total mortgages defaulting in month t divided by total mortgages alive at the start of month t.
Further, by removing all of the transactions of the defaulting participant, a settlement recast automatically allocates the losses associated with the default to the participants that dealt with the defaulting participant.
There is no one typical path borrowers follow after defaulting on a federal student loan.
ROHNERT PARK, Calif: Defaulting on federal student loans is a big deal.
Copyright © 2003-2025 Farlex, Inc Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.