placeholder

[ pleys-hohl-der ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

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.
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.

First recorded in 1550–60; place + holder

The Defense Department has set aside $79 billion for OCO for the next fiscal year, the same placeholder amount as this one.

That bill is a placeholder to get the House on record while the Senate works on the more detailed legislation, aides said.

Maybe it was being used as a placeholder and never taken out.

Intended to be a placeholder, no one suspected he would do anything of consequence.

Rather than Roman numerals, this appears to be a placeholder to a reference that was not filled in.

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