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
As World Heavyweight Champion, Priest was clearly a placeholder champion utilized as a means to transition the title onto Gunther.
—Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025
The idea that Trump could retake the reins of power by having Vance, or some other placeholder, run, win and then cede the Oval Office back to him faces its own high hurdle.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 31 Mar. 2025
Stephon Gilmore was merely a placeholder for Minnesota at the position.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Mar. 2025
Playing Reichel on the fourth line with two slow placeholders is not where Reichel should be.
—Scott Powers, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for placeholder
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Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025
The idea that Trump could retake the reins of power by having Vance, or some other placeholder, run, win and then cede the Oval Office back to him faces its own high hurdle.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 31 Mar. 2025
Stephon Gilmore was merely a placeholder for Minnesota at the position.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Mar. 2025
Playing Reichel on the fourth line with two slow placeholders is not where Reichel should be.
—Scott Powers, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 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 10 Jun. 2025.
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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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