placeholder
noun
place·hold·er
ˈplās-ˌhōl-dər 
plural placeholders
1
: a person or thing that occupies the position or place of another person or thing
The bill would empower the governor to appoint a placeholder to a vacant U.S. Senate seat, to serve through the next general election cycle.—
John Sharp
John SharpThe result was that the legislation represented little more than a placeholder to put the budget before a conference committee …—Carl Ingram
Carl Ingram2
: a symbol in a mathematical or logical expression that may be replaced by the name of any element of a set
3
American football
: a player who places and holds the ball upright on the ground for placekicking of a field goal
Examples of placeholder in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Mindy Project, a workplace rom-com that cast the creator as a single ob-gyn, had some great moments but was inconsistent enough to feel as dashed-off as its placeholder title.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025
The permit application drafted by the NPS on behalf of Trump's inaugural committee for next week's ceremony currently contains a placeholder estimate of 500,000 people to be on the National Mall, according to a copy seen by Reuters.
—Tim Reid, USA TODAY, 15 Jan. 2025
He was brought in as a placeholder by the 49ers last year and at least things did not get any worse.
—Steve Silverman, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Over the years, Ricky's name was used for various sign-ups—burner emails, promotional offers and even as a placeholder for referrals.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 18 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for placeholder
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Judy Berman, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025
The permit application drafted by the NPS on behalf of Trump's inaugural committee for next week's ceremony currently contains a placeholder estimate of 500,000 people to be on the National Mall, according to a copy seen by Reuters.
—Tim Reid, USA TODAY, 15 Jan. 2025
He was brought in as a placeholder by the 49ers last year and at least things did not get any worse.
—Steve Silverman, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Over the years, Ricky's name was used for various sign-ups—burner emails, promotional offers and even as a placeholder for referrals.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 18 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for placeholder
Cite this Entry
“Placeholder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/placeholder. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
placeholder
noun
place·hold·er
ˈplās-ˌhōl-dər
: a symbol used in mathematics in the place of a numeral not yet known
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