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
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
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
Even in places where fill-in programming performed reasonably well, the gaps are noticeable.
—Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Dec. 2023
Fox News has promoted Gillian Turner to anchor and state department and foreign policy correspondent.
Turner, who joined Fox News in 2014 and has worked as a correspondent and fill-in anchor since 2018, will now cover international and domestic issues at the State Department.
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Dec. 2023
Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
That can lead to the young workers filling in the blanks with self-doubt or negative assumptions that managers never intended.
—Danielle Abril, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
The band – Tyler, guitarist Joe Perry, bassist Tom Hamilton and guitarist Brad Whitford, along with drummer John Douglas filling in for Joey Kramer – sounded in peak form for their deserved victory lap.
—USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024
Among its many fascinating moments is the sight of the affable Lewis learning to sing his one line after he was recruited to fill in for Prince, who was a no-show.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2024
But where photographers had struggled to capture the nuances and fiery hues of the sun’s corona, Butler succeeded by taking meticulous shorthand notes during the eclipses, then filling in the gaps later, a bit like a paint by numbers kit.
—Elissaveta M. Brandon, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
Cool the mixture and fill in a hummingbird feeder, hang the feeder outside and wait for the hummingbirds to arrive.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 2 Apr. 2024
The top of the new hub has a landing pad and charging base for drones to come and go, and the plan is for there to always be a backup drone, or drones at nearby hubs that can fill in when there are no drones available at a particular location.
—Jennifer Jolly, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
The chief physician executive at St. Luke’s Health System, Dr. Jim Souza, said vacant positions that previously would have been filled in weeks are remaining open for months, with some not getting filled at all.
—Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 3 Apr. 2024
Noun
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
Even in places where fill-in programming performed reasonably well, the gaps are noticeable.
—Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Dec. 2023
Fox News has promoted Gillian Turner to anchor and state department and foreign policy correspondent.
Turner, who joined Fox News in 2014 and has worked as a correspondent and fill-in anchor since 2018, will now cover international and domestic issues at the State Department.
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Dec. 2023
Verb
Newsletters run by individuals are filling in news holes and getting subscribers in the process.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
That can lead to the young workers filling in the blanks with self-doubt or negative assumptions that managers never intended.
—Danielle Abril, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
The band – Tyler, guitarist Joe Perry, bassist Tom Hamilton and guitarist Brad Whitford, along with drummer John Douglas filling in for Joey Kramer – sounded in peak form for their deserved victory lap.
—USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024
Among its many fascinating moments is the sight of the affable Lewis learning to sing his one line after he was recruited to fill in for Prince, who was a no-show.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2024
But where photographers had struggled to capture the nuances and fiery hues of the sun’s corona, Butler succeeded by taking meticulous shorthand notes during the eclipses, then filling in the gaps later, a bit like a paint by numbers kit.
—Elissaveta M. Brandon, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
Cool the mixture and fill in a hummingbird feeder, hang the feeder outside and wait for the hummingbirds to arrive.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 2 Apr. 2024
The top of the new hub has a landing pad and charging base for drones to come and go, and the plan is for there to always be a backup drone, or drones at nearby hubs that can fill in when there are no drones available at a particular location.
—Jennifer Jolly, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
The chief physician executive at St. Luke’s Health System, Dr. Jim Souza, said vacant positions that previously would have been filled in weeks are remaining open for months, with some not getting filled at all.
—Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 3 Apr. 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 19 Apr. 2024.
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