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
Jessica Bartlett — Boston Globe, STAT, 25 Jan. 2026
Coleman returned to the lineup over the next two weeks as a fill-in for an injured Palmer.
—Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2026
Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
Phibbs said his grandmother’s story is integral and historically fills in gaps recognizing people who might have been either overlooked or there wasn’t enough information on them.
—Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fill-in
Noun
Beth Israel Lahey Health has long been the state’s second-largest hospital system, the second biggest employer, the second most fill-in-the-blank.
—Jessica Bartlett — Boston Globe, STAT, 25 Jan. 2026
Coleman returned to the lineup over the next two weeks as a fill-in for an injured Palmer.
—Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2026
Verb
Besides Castrejon, there’s Nathan Medina, who has eight goals, and Nathan Vargas, a backup goalie who has filled in well while the starter was sick.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
Phibbs said his grandmother’s story is integral and historically fills in gaps recognizing people who might have been either overlooked or there wasn’t enough information on them.
—Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fill-in
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fill-in
Noun
-
Gruda’s performances have not been at a level that would entitle him to expect to be a regular starter (10 of 18 league appearances this season have been as a substitute).—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Zagorac was fired from substitute teaching jobs in Naperville District 203, Hinsdale District 181 and Schaumburg District 54 in 2005, after the districts realized their background checks did not extend beyond Illinois’ borders, according to the Naperville Sun.—
Olivia Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The purpose was to inform the players that the team would not be forfeiting an upcoming home match against SJSU.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
4 Feb. 2026
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The tech is also analyzing women’s health data to inform clinical approaches.—
Alexa Mikhail,
Flow Space,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The image of Daniel standing in a small boat on the enormous river, scouring below its surface with a camera at the end of a pole, stuck with the filmmaker.—
Chris O'Falt,
IndieWire,
3 Feb. 2026
-
One of the many unsettling images to emerge from the recent ICE surge in Minneapolis was that of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, in his blue bunny hat, standing in the January cold with the hand of a federal officer gripping his Spider-Man backpack.—
A.O. Scott,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Lee is coming off a knee replacement, which means the former USDHS and UC San Diego standout may soon be kicking the ball around with her team.—
Steve Brand,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 Feb. 2026
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In this sense, it can be thought of as less of a replacement for things like air conditioning, but rather a cooling buffer or kind of capacitor.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Mostly Mute Monday tells an astronomical story in images, visuals, and no more than 200 words.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Kate later told Mary Berry that William tried to pull out all the stops in the kitchen to impress her early on in their relationship.—
Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
2 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Trump’s first order of business on Monday was to dispatch Tom Homan, the White House’s border czar, to Minneapolis to take over federal operations and communications with state and local officials.—
Christian Datoc,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Jan. 2026
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For example, block time each morning for deep work so that critical tasks always get attention before meetings and interruptions take over.—
Sho Dewan,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
These buckets store files such as photos, documents, receipts and backups.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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The committee voted to fully fund payments to jails, which have housed some offenders as a backup, and for medical payments.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Venezuelans in need of consular support in the US typically had to travel to a third country, like Canada or Mexico, with another acceptable form of documentation to get it; that’s even what the International Organization for Migration advised.—
Maeva Bambuck,
CNN Money,
1 Feb. 2026
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Instead, the plant expert advises only repotting when roots circling the pot become visible and/or when growth slows.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fill-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fill-in. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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