default

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun Failure to perform a task or fulfill an obligation, especially failure to meet a financial obligation.
• noun Law Failure of a party in a case to make a required court appearance.
• noun The failure of one or more competitors or teams to participate in a contest.
• noun Computers A particular setting or value for a variable that is assigned automatically by an operating system and remains in effect unless canceled or overridden by the operator.
• noun A situation or condition that obtains in the absence of active intervention.
• intransitive verb To fail to do what is required.
• intransitive verb To fail to pay money when it is due.
• intransitive verb Computers To revert to a default.
• intransitive verb To fail to appear in court as a party to a case when summoned.
• intransitive verb To lose a case by not appearing.
• intransitive verb To fail to take part in or complete a scheduled contest.
• intransitive verb To fail to perform or pay.
• intransitive verb Law To lose (a case) by failing to appear in court.
• intransitive verb To fail to take part in or complete (a contest, for example).
• idiom (in default of) Through the failure, absence, or lack of.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun A failing or failure; an omission of that which ought to be done; neglect to do what duty, obligation, or law requires; specifically, in law, a failure to perform a required act in a lawsuit within the required time, as to plead or appear in court, or omission to meet a pecuniary obligation when due.
• noun Lack; want; failure; defect.
• noun A fault; an offense; a misdeed; a wrong act.
• noun In hunting, a lost scent.
• To fail in fulfilling or satisfying an engagement, claim, or obligation; especially, to fail in meeting a legal or pecuniary obligation at the proper time, as appearance in court, the payment of a debt, or the accounting for funds intrusted to one's care: as, a defaulting defendant or debtor; he has defaulted on his bond, or in his trust.
• To fail in duty; offend.
• To omit; neglect.
• To fail in the performance of.
• In law, to declare (a defendant) in default and enter judgment against (him).

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun A failing or failure; omission of that which ought to be done; neglect to do what duty or law requires.
• noun Fault; offense; ill deed; wrong act; failure in virtue or wisdom.
• noun (Law) A neglect of, or failure to take, some step necessary to secure the benefit of law, as a failure to appear in court at a day assigned, especially of the defendant in a suit when called to make answer; also of jurors, witnesses, etc.
• noun in case of failure or lack of.
• noun (Law) to permit an action to be called without appearing to answer.
• intransitive verb To fail in duty; to offend.
• intransitive verb To fail in fulfilling a contract, agreement, or duty.
• intransitive verb To fail to appear in court; to let a case go by default.
• transitive verb To fail to perform or pay; to be guilty of neglect of; to omit.
• transitive verb (Law) To call a defendant or other party whose duty it is to be present in court, and make entry of his default, if he fails to appear; to enter a default against.
• transitive verb obsolete To leave out of account; to omit.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun finance The condition of failing to meet an obligation.
• noun electronics, computing the original software programming settings as set by the factory
• noun A loss incurred by failing to compete.
• noun A selection made in the absence of an alternative.
• noun A value used when none has been given; a tentative value or standard that is presumed.
• noun law The failure of a defendant to appear and answer a summons and complaint.
• verb intransitive To fail to meet an obligation.
• verb intransitive To lose a competition by failing to compete.
• verb intransitive, computing To assume a value when none was given; to presume a tentative value or standard.
• verb intransitive, law To fail to appear and answer a summons and complaint.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun loss resulting from failure of a debt to be paid
• verb fail to pay up