Meaning & use
defaulters
Last updated
“defaulters” is a form of “defaulter”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
People who have failed to pay money they owe or to do something they officially promised to do.
Grammar: This is the plural of 'defaulter'; use it for more than one person, and a plural verb: 'The defaulters were fined.'
Patterns
- defaulters on a loan
- a list of defaulters
- tax defaulters
The bank sent warning letters to all the defaulters.
Tax defaulters may have to pay a heavy fine.
By the end of the year there were hundreds of defaulters on the student loan scheme.
nounplural
People who fail to appear when they are required to, for example for military service or a court date.
Grammar: Used in the plural, often with 'on' before the duty or obligation that was missed.
Patterns
- defaulters on jury service
- army defaulters
The court dealt strictly with defaulters who missed their hearing dates.
Soldiers who left their unit without permission were listed as defaulters.
Word forms
| singular | defaulter |
|---|
Common combinations
- tax defaulters
- The government published a list of tax defaulters.
- loan defaulters
- Banks are chasing loan defaulters more aggressively.
- a list of defaulters
- Her name appeared on a list of defaulters.
- defaulters on a debt
- Defaulters on the debt face extra interest charges.
- deal with defaulters
- The council set up a team to deal with defaulters.
Synonyms and how they differ
- non-payer
- Focuses only on money not paid, while 'defaulter' can also mean someone who misses a duty such as jury service.
- debtor
- Simply means someone who owes money, whether or not they have missed a payment; a defaulter has already broken the agreement.
- offender
- Used for someone who breaks a law or rule in general, not specifically a payment or duty.
Word family
Commonly confused: defaulters or defector? defaulters or debtors?
defaulters vs defector
A defector leaves a country or group to join another; a defaulter fails to pay or fails to appear.
defaulters vs debtors
Debtors owe money but may still be paying on time; defaulters have already broken the payment agreement.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'defaulters' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Defaulters' are people who have failed to pay or failed to do a duty, so missing payments fits. Option 0 is wrong because defaulters have not paid early, option 1 describes heroes, and option 3 describes defectors, not defaulters.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “defaulters”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.