Default means the standard setting or automatic choice that happens when you don't actively choose something else. When you open a new document on a computer, it usually appears in a default font like Times New Roman or Arial because that's what the program automatically uses unless you change it. Your phone comes with default ringtones and wallpapers already selected.

The word suggests “what happens if you do nothing.” A restaurant might have a default side dish of french fries with every burger, but you can request something different. Video games often start with default difficulty settings that work for most players. When programmers create software, they choose defaults carefully because they know many people will never change them.

The word has another important meaning in finance and law: to default on a loan means to fail to make required payments. If someone defaults on their car payment, they've broken their promise to pay on schedule. Countries can even default on their debts to other nations. This meaning carries the same sense of something happening because an expected action didn't occur: payment was supposed to happen, but it didn't.

Sometimes the default settings work perfectly, but other times it's worth exploring your options and making an active choice instead of accepting whatever was chosen for you by default.