Meaning & use
Defaults
Last updated
Preselected options or settings that are used automatically unless changed by the user.
See it in a sentence
Just leave the printer settings on their defaults.
The software restores factory defaults after a reset.
A note on using this word
Widely used in computing, but the word also has a legal and financial sense: failures to fulfill an obligation, such as loan repayment.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Another way to use it
2. noun
Failures to fulfill legal or financial obligations, such as repaying a debt.
The bank tracked the number of loan defaults during the recession.
3. verb
Fails to fulfill an obligation, or wins a contest because an opponent fails to appear.
The company defaults on its bond payments if revenue drops further.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Defaults”, then compare your use with the examples above.