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
For years, these domains displayed harmless placeholder pages.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 26 Dec. 2025
As a result, six placeholders were drawn during Friday's event.
—Matt Schooley, CBS News, 6 Dec. 2025
In 2015, Sellers famously shamed then-Mayor Michael Hancock when the city failed to buy a 60-year service lapel pin and instead gave her a 15-year pin as a placeholder.
—Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 3 Dec. 2025
Individuals like these are referred to as John and Jane Does, common placeholder names used for anonymous or unidentified people.
—Austin Hornbostel, Nashville Tennessean, 26 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for placeholder
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Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 26 Dec. 2025
As a result, six placeholders were drawn during Friday's event.
—Matt Schooley, CBS News, 6 Dec. 2025
In 2015, Sellers famously shamed then-Mayor Michael Hancock when the city failed to buy a 60-year service lapel pin and instead gave her a 15-year pin as a placeholder.
—Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 3 Dec. 2025
Individuals like these are referred to as John and Jane Does, common placeholder names used for anonymous or unidentified people.
—Austin Hornbostel, Nashville Tennessean, 26 Nov. 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 31 Dec. 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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