placeholder

[ pleys-hohl-der ]

/ ˈpleɪsˌhoʊl dər /

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noun

something that marks or temporarily fills a place (often used attributively): I couldn’t find my bookmark, so I put a coaster in my book as a placeholder.We’re using placeholder art in this mock-up of the ad layout.

Mathematics, Logic. a symbol in an expression that may be replaced by the name of any element of the set.

a person who holds a government office, especially one appointed to the position in return for political support or favors.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of placeholder

First recorded in 1550–60; place + holder

How to use placeholder in a sentence

The world that Black Dynamite lives in is not the most PC place to be in.
‘Black Dynamite’ Presents Police Brutality: The Musical|Stereo Williams|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“They are hypocritical on this very issue,” Shearer said about Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder and other public officials.
Harry Shearer on The Dangerous Business of Satire|Lloyd Grove|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“This is the only place in the souk you can buy safety pins,” he said.
The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech|Liza Foreman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He hasn't bothered to visit Iguala, the place where the students were abducted and killed.
Why Mexicans Are Enraged by Obama’s Big Tuesday Meeting|Ruben Navarrette Jr.|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

A place that has multiplied success for generation after generation of its children.
Mario Cuomo, Always Moving Us Toward the Light|Mike Barnicle|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This is the place where the Muscovite criminals are banished to, if they are not put to death.
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe
He looked strangely out of place in the dusty combat uniform.
Sense of Obligation|Henry Maxwell Dempsey (AKA Harry Harrison)
The associations of place recall her strange interview with Mr. Longcluse but a few months before.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
As Spain, however, has fallen from the high place she once held, her colonial system has also gone down.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Give a sweet savour, and a memorial of fine flour, and make a fat offering, and then give place to the physician.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various