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

The result was that the legislation represented little more than a placeholder to put the budget before a conference committee …

—Carl Ingram

2

: 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 user interface, which previously felt like a placeholder—and a barely functional one at that—has now been given a complete overhaul. —Adam Ismail, The Drive, 25 Mar. 2026

Let this clip of us giving it our all be a placeholder. —Glenn Garner, Deadline, 20 Mar. 2026

Since December, the National City police chief has also served as interim city manager — the latest placeholder in a search for permanent leadership rapidly approaching its one-year mark. —Walker Armstrong, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026

This colorful first engagement ring, an eternity band featuring rubies and diamonds, is considered by some to be a placeholder for the second ring. —Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 12 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1927, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for placeholder

• officeholder
• beholder
• bondholder
• cardholder
• freeholder
• householder
• landholder
• leaseholder
• lienholder
• shareholder
• slaveholder
• smallholder

Kids Definition

placeholder

noun

place·​hold·​er ˈplās-ˌhōl-dər 

: a symbol used in mathematics in the place of a numeral not yet known