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
Yet ghost jobs, fake, outdated, or placeholder postings, are becoming increasingly common.
—Kara Dennison, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
These explosions could help scientists crack the mystery of dark energy, the placeholder name for the strange force that is causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate, and a multitude of other cosmic conundrums.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 20 July 2025
Senate Republicans have said that the number in the text is merely a placeholder to continue negotiations across the Capitol.
—Mychael Schnell, The Hill, 16 June 2025
Dark energy puts scientists in a spin Dark energy is a placeholder name given to whatever force is causing the universe to expand at an accelerating rate.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for placeholder
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Kara Dennison, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
These explosions could help scientists crack the mystery of dark energy, the placeholder name for the strange force that is causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate, and a multitude of other cosmic conundrums.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 20 July 2025
Senate Republicans have said that the number in the text is merely a placeholder to continue negotiations across the Capitol.
—Mychael Schnell, The Hill, 16 June 2025
Dark energy puts scientists in a spin Dark energy is a placeholder name given to whatever force is causing the universe to expand at an accelerating rate.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 21 June 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 30 Jul. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share