as in substitute
a person or thing that takes the place of another
I'm just a fill-in, so I have no idea where office supplies are kept
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to inform
to give information to
my friend quickly filled me in on the portion of the movie that I had missed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to substitute
to serve as a replacement usually for a time only
she's only filling in while the regular secretary is on vacation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of fill-in
Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 1 June 2026
Tagovailoa could be more than a fill-in for Penix.
—CBS News, 27 May 2026
Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2026
Beatrice Nolan here, filling in for AI editor Jeremy Kahn, who is in Aspen at Fortune Brainstorm Tech.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for fill-in
Noun
Among those set to join the Hot Topics table in the episodes ahead are longtime fill-in panelist Sheryl Underwood, journalist Kara Swisher, and extending moderator Whoopi Goldberg's panel time into Fridays for the time being, though the EGOT winner typically has the day off each week.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 1 June 2026
Tagovailoa could be more than a fill-in for Penix.
—CBS News, 27 May 2026
Verb
Meantime, Sung-Mun Song will start at shortstop and likely fill in at the position until Bogaerts rejoins the team on Friday in Baltimore.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2026
Beatrice Nolan here, filling in for AI editor Jeremy Kahn, who is in Aspen at Fortune Brainstorm Tech.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for fill-in
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fill-in
Noun
-
Veteran substitute Arnautovic appeared to have restored Austria’s lead in the 67th minute from a goalmouth scramble, but that was ruled out as Stefan Posch handled in the area.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
-
In some cases, there may be substitutes that fit within the performance standard required for your car, but don't just put in a cheaper or more readily available oil without checking.—
Camila Domonoske,
NPR,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
But another four or five weeks of games can inform Weiss and Anthopoulos’ own answer.—
Ken Sugiura,
AJC.com,
16 June 2026
-
McGregor Scott, Williamson’s attorney, said he had not been informed of any other investigations involving his client.—
Lia Russell,
Sacbee.com,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
Though the budget contains fewer bells and whistles than might have been expected in an election-year plan designed to attract voters, Pritzker said Democrats' spending priorities stand in sharp contrast to Republican initiatives at the federal level.—
Ben Szalinski,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
-
While Brixon and the other award winners stood in the school gym to pose with their awards, Brogan was quick to grab his great aunt Terri Hopson's phone to record the event.—
Georgia Slater,
PEOPLE,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
Legislators passed a law two years ago barring the use of that barcode for the official vote count beyond July 1 of this year, but no replacement method of tabulating votes was ever implemented.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 June 2026
-
That Cold War replacement is not a shining example of religious liberty.—
David Williamson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 June 2026
Verb
-
An Israeli source told CNN that Netanyahu has also privately blamed Kushner and Witkoff for creating a wedge between the two leaders.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
15 June 2026
-
There must be something magical about Block Island after all, but only time will tell if that magic will extend to Jo-Ellen and Rulla, who still doubts that Jo-Ellen’s proof was well-meaning.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
15 June 2026
Verb
-
With incoming Chancellor Torence Powell taking over July 1, this marks a period of transition for the district of four community colleges in the Sacramento region.—
Tarini Mehta,
Sacbee.com,
16 June 2026
-
In late March, John Tortorella took over a Vegas Golden Knights team that had lost 12 of its last 16 games and didn’t remotely resemble a championship contender.—
Jesse Granger,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
So far, backup Nico Hansen has looked every bit the part of a starter in Steffen’s absence.—
Braidon Nourse,
Denver Post,
11 June 2026
-
The addition gives Golden State another body in the frontcourt along with starting center Kiah Stokes and backup Laeticia Amihere.—
Nathan Canilao,
Mercury News,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
Residents attending outside events were advised by the city’s alert system to monitor weather conditions and seek shelter if lightning or strong winds develop.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
15 June 2026
-
Jon Hyman, chair of the employment and labor practice at the Wickens Herzer Panza law firm, advises his clients to trust individual managers to work out arrangements on a case-by-case basis.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
14 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fill-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fill-in. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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