By default

It doesn't mean "without opposition", but you do win by default when your opponent doesn't show up. Your opponent has defaulted.

?I assumed such a meaning from this context:

You are fighting a battle on Mars. If your forces are still on earth, you can expect to lose the battle by default.

We are on Mars, aren't we?

You mean that it makes sense to you to speak of losing a battle without opposition? I did find that passage, in spite of your continuing reluctance to provide context in your initial posts. I couldn't have explained it better than he did right there.

soheil1We are on Mars, aren't we?

No, we are on Earth.

oxford dictionary defines 'by default' as:a lack of opposition.
So I provided no context, thinking that it has only one meaning. Pardon me if that caused inconvenience.

So what does 'by default' mean here?

Hi

Alternatively, the phrase (or word) means "the consequences of your actions are due to a fault or failing on your part' ...

- You did not turn up to the chess match on time, so you lost by default

- He has to go to court because he defaulted on the loan

There is also a neutral meaning ...

- I've never changed the set-up of my computer - it still has

soheil1oxford dictionary defines 'by default' as:a lack of opposition.

The online British and World version of the Oxford Dictionary has, "because of a lack of opposition".

My Shorter Oxford has, "because of absence or failure to act".

What Oxford Dic

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/by%2Bdefault___1

BTW, I don't see the difference between the di\effintions

That is the online one I quoted. There is no real difference between the dictionary definitions, but there is a difference between them and what you reported it was. It really does matter what words are there and what order they are in. "By default" does not mean "without opposition", it means "because of a lack of opposition."

Think of it this way: When you lose a battle by default, you