placeholder

American  

[pleys-hohl-der] / ˈpleɪsˌhoʊl dər /

noun

1. 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.

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

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

---

Etymology

Origin of placeholder

First recorded in 1550–60; place + holder

Example Sentences

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, elected pope in October 1958 as an elderly placeholder, had answers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

It could become a glamorous placeholder: I like you enough to consider marrying you and I don’t want you going anywhere while I continue to think about it.

From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2024

The British Medical Association has this week written to the health secretary to warn it is "exceedingly concerned" about the placeholder situation, after being inundated with complaints from worried medical students.

From BBC • May 4, 2024

Leave a few stems standing, use plant markers or, next fall, plant some spring flowering bulbs near the plants to serve as a colorful placeholder.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 1, 2024

In any case, a symbol for zero—the placeholder in the base-10 numbering system—was certainly in use by the ninth century.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife