placeholder
Americannoun
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something that marks or temporarily fills a place (often used attributively): We’re using placeholder art in this mock-up of the ad layout.
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.
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Mathematics, Logic. a symbol in an expression that may be replaced by the name of any element of the set.
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a person who holds a government office, especially one appointed to the position in return for political support or favors.
Etymology
Origin of placeholder
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The other eight vendors’ total obligations of $10,000 and $6,666 are placeholder allocations designed to grant them a position in the vendor pool.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 24, 2026
Design a personal dashboard mock-up with placeholder data.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026
For the next three weeks, Mr González was referred to by his own coalition members as a "placeholder", who was widely expected to be replaced by a candidate with more name recognition.
From BBC • Jul. 24, 2024
To be clear, Disease X is a hypothetical disease where the “X” is simply a placeholder.
From Salon • Feb. 7, 2024
And it is a placeholder in a positional notation system, such as our *Actually, it didn’t.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
