filled in; filling in; fills in
1
: to enrich (something, such as a design) with detail
2
: to give necessary or recently acquired information to
I'll fill you in
: to fill a vacancy usually temporarily
interns filled in for regular staffers
Synonyms
Examples of fill-in in a Sentence
Noun
I'm just a fill-in, so I have no idea where office supplies are kept
Verb
my friend quickly filled me in on the portion of the movie that I had missed
she's only filling in while the regular secretary is on vacation
Recent Examples on the Web
Colette Gaiter, The Conversation, 15 Feb. 2024
After all, multiple players ahead of him on the depth chart were injured, and others who had received fill-in opportunities did little with them.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 3 May 2024
The laser instrument appeared to serve as a suitable fill-in, and everything appeared to be working until the spacecraft went silent for several minutes.
—Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024
Practice squad fullback Jason Cabinda also can play as a fill-in tight end.
—Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 24 Jan. 2024
Garner, who was a last-minute fill-in speaker to replace Laura Dern and Don Cheadle Thursday, could not have been more proud to have worked with and grown close to her costar.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 9 Feb. 2024
At the time of the reshuffling announcement, MSNBC noted its intention to keep Hasan on as an analyst and fill-in host.
—Becket Adams, National Review, 14 Jan. 2024
The network had announced in November that Hasan would lose his weekly show after three years but would remain as an analyst and fill-in anchor.
—David Bauder, Fortune, 9 Jan. 2024
Zack Moss Position: Running back Age: 26 2023 salary cap hit: $1.15 million
With the Colts: Moss has been an able fill-in when Jonathan Taylor has missed time with injuries.
—Scott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 7 Jan. 2024
Kathleen Felton, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 May 2024
Though there’s ample footage from early Henson efforts in puppetry, as well as his experimental short films plus archival interviews with his late wife Jane, Howard has to fill in a lot of visual gaps.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 May 2024
In the ensuing decades, mathematicians filled in this picture, constructing examples and developing a more concrete theory.
—Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 14 May 2024
In other places, the contractor is filling in space behind the seawall, at one spot eliminating a small cove loved by beachgoers.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2024
The 64-minute black-and-white movie about a one-eyed giant octopus terrorizing Mexican villagers was shot in six days for $12,000, with the beach at Malibu filling in for the Yucatan Peninsula.
—Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2024
On his first few movies, Mr. Corman produced, thought up the story, drove the equipment truck and filled in as a stunt driver.
—Aljean Harmetz, New York Times, 12 May 2024
That means the state would use only $4.2 billion in reserves during the upcoming fiscal year, leaving an $8.9 billion gap the administration had to fill in other ways.
—Lindsey Holden, Sacramento Bee, 10 May 2024
Sanborn moved to strongside linebacker and filled in capably when Edmunds was out.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2024
Noun
Loud and clear The names painted on the Los Angeles skyscrapers are the faster and easier-to-complete fill-ins, since time is at a premium and the artists risk arrest.
—Colette Gaiter, The Conversation, 15 Feb. 2024
After all, multiple players ahead of him on the depth chart were injured, and others who had received fill-in opportunities did little with them.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 3 May 2024
The laser instrument appeared to serve as a suitable fill-in, and everything appeared to be working until the spacecraft went silent for several minutes.
—Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024
Practice squad fullback Jason Cabinda also can play as a fill-in tight end.
—Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 24 Jan. 2024
Garner, who was a last-minute fill-in speaker to replace Laura Dern and Don Cheadle Thursday, could not have been more proud to have worked with and grown close to her costar.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 9 Feb. 2024
At the time of the reshuffling announcement, MSNBC noted its intention to keep Hasan on as an analyst and fill-in host.
—Becket Adams, National Review, 14 Jan. 2024
The network had announced in November that Hasan would lose his weekly show after three years but would remain as an analyst and fill-in anchor.
—David Bauder, Fortune, 9 Jan. 2024
Zack Moss Position: Running back Age: 26 2023 salary cap hit: $1.15 million
With the Colts: Moss has been an able fill-in when Jonathan Taylor has missed time with injuries.
—Scott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 7 Jan. 2024
Verb
There were no missing or imperfect seams, the fill in the pockets was evenly distributed with no clumps, and there were no odors of any kind.
—Kathleen Felton, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 May 2024
Though there’s ample footage from early Henson efforts in puppetry, as well as his experimental short films plus archival interviews with his late wife Jane, Howard has to fill in a lot of visual gaps.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 May 2024
In the ensuing decades, mathematicians filled in this picture, constructing examples and developing a more concrete theory.
—Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 14 May 2024
In other places, the contractor is filling in space behind the seawall, at one spot eliminating a small cove loved by beachgoers.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2024
The 64-minute black-and-white movie about a one-eyed giant octopus terrorizing Mexican villagers was shot in six days for $12,000, with the beach at Malibu filling in for the Yucatan Peninsula.
—Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2024
On his first few movies, Mr. Corman produced, thought up the story, drove the equipment truck and filled in as a stunt driver.
—Aljean Harmetz, New York Times, 12 May 2024
That means the state would use only $4.2 billion in reserves during the upcoming fiscal year, leaving an $8.9 billion gap the administration had to fill in other ways.
—Lindsey Holden, Sacramento Bee, 10 May 2024
Sanborn moved to strongside linebacker and filled in capably when Edmunds was out.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fill-in.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fill-in
Cite this Entry
“Fill-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fill-in. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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