Does "default" imply "only"?

Question

Speaking of options and settings, does the word "default" imply the only value of an option, or can there be more than one default values of a single option (setting)?

EDIT: Let's say the question is about user interfaces. If use "default" word for specific option value (e.g., "default phone number" where you can have several phone numbers) It is an adverb then, I guess. Is it expected that such a default option value is the only one (which is what I think), there can be only one "default phone number", or there can be several "default phone numbers"?

Note that you're using default as a noun or adjective. As a verb, it can refer to individual occurrences, which have individual circumstances, and can have individual default values: When Z occurs, the routine defaults to X, but under circumstance Q, it defaults only if W has also occurred. Essentially you can treat it as you would an exit command in pseudocode. — John Lawler, Sep 19 '18 at 14:34

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 19 '18 at 16:33

Speaking of options and settings, does the word "default" imply the only value of an option,

If you only have one choice, then you don't really have any choice at all.

can there be more than one default values of a single option (setting)?

In computer interfaces, the default is the choice that's made if the user doesn't make any changes. For the software's behavior to be predictable, there should be only one default for each setting.

For example, do you want a red, blue, or green background for the screen? If you don't choose, the background will be blue. Therefore we say blue is the default. It wouldn't make sense for the default to be both blue and green.

It is an adverb then, I guess.

If we talk about the "default selection" then it's an adjective modifying selection. It's often simply used as a noun, as in "What's the default for the background color setting?".

Does "default" imply "only"?

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