What does "placeman" mean?

One appointed to an office, especially in government, as a reward for political or other support; an appointee, a yes-man.

What is a synonym for "placeman"?

Common synonyms include: functionary, mandarin, officeholder, officer, official, placeseeker.

Placeman

//ˈpleɪsman// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
One appointed to an office, especially in government, as a reward for political or other support; an appointee, a yes-man. UK, derogatory
"Plus, contrary to hysterical prediction and uninformed innuendo, Bryant Lemuel's influence did not fill this pilot project with compliant placemen, instead leaving all appointments to the university science faculty."
2
a disparaging term for a male appointee wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

functionary mandarin officeholder officer official placeseeker

Example

More examples

"Plus, contrary to hysterical prediction and uninformed innuendo, Bryant Lemuel's influence did not fill this pilot project with compliant placemen, instead leaving all appointments to the university science faculty."

Etymology

From place + -man.

Related phrases

yes man

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.