B. The omission or failure to perform a legal or contractual duty, especially to pay a debt when due.
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to pronunciationLegal Definition -
Default (di-fawlt also dee-fawlt), n. The omission or failure to perform a legal or contractual duty; especially the failure to pay a debt when due.
Black's Law Dictionary® Eighth Edition © 2004
Default is also a verb (to default on a loan). Here is the dictionary definition:
Default (di-fawlt) vb. 1. To be neglectful; especially, to fail to perform a contractual obligation. 2. To fail to appear or answer. 3. To enter a default judgment against (a litigant).
Current Usage -
The United States may soon fall into another round of loan defaults on the consumer credit market in the wake of the ongoing subprime mortgage debacle, according to the Korea Center for International Finance (KCIF) Thursday. The center said that a growing number of U.S. consumers are failing to pay interest on credit cards and automobile loans amid a worsening job market, adding that if the default rates continue to go up, it could rattle the U.S. financial market. The default rate on U.S. consumer loans has shown an upward curve since 2006 and in particular, since the third quarter of last year, when the high-risk home-backed loan crisis erupted. ``Rising default rates on consumer loans, paired with the ongoing subprime mortgage market turmoil, will likely further push the world's largest economy downward. It will dampen consumer spending, a main driver of the U.S. economy, and then reduce industrial production and investment,'' the KCIF said.
The Korea Times, Lee Hyo-sik, January 27, 2008