By default means as the standard setting, unless you change it: notifications are on by default. In life, it means because there was no other option: nobody else volunteered, so Nora became the organiser by default. In sport, win by default means win without playing because the other side didn't turn up.
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be enabled / selected / saved by default; become something by default; win by default
- The app saves new documents locally by default.
- With no other volunteers, Nora became the organiser by default.
- Our team won by default when the opponents failed to arrive.
What changed
First versionNotifications are enabled by the default.
RevisionNotifications are enabled by default.
Default is a noun, and nouns usually take an article, so by the default seems logical. But the fixed phrase has none: enabled by default. The default appears separately: the default language, this is the default.
Automatically means it happens by itself: the app updates automatically. By default is the starting option, which you can change: the language is English by default. By chance means accidentally, while a default setting was chosen quite deliberately.
Your turn
Unless you change the setting, files stay private ___ default.
Show the answer
by — The starting mode that applies until you change it is by default. On default isn't used.
Describe a default setting on your phone or in an app, and say what you can change. Use by default.
The calendar shows a whole week by default, but you can switch to a daily view.
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