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

Initially seen as a placeholder for her brother's seat, Graham has impressed her Senate colleagues. — Terry Collins, USA Today, 21 July 2026

The worst came in the final simulation, when UConn lost to FCS East (the game’s placeholder for FCS opponents like Lafayette) and finished 4-8, failing to make a bowl appearance for just the second time in our 10 seasons. — Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 17 July 2026

In his announcement Monday, McMaster made no reference to Darline Graham as a placeholder or symbolic appointment. — Meg Kinnard, Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2026

Maybe that doesn’t matter much for a team with players like Tij Iginla and Caleb Desnoyers in the pipeline; Hayton can be a placeholder for next year. — Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 6 July 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