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
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Recent Examples of fill-in
EW.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Friday night, his fill-in, John Stamos, who had flown over from Spain, took the role anyway for a single night.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Aug. 2025
Carson Blackwelder, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025
The government needs a way to fill in the gaps.
—Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fill-in
Noun
In the absence of his wife and regular cohost Kelly Ripa, the actor kicked off Thursday's Live edition by telling fill-in panelist Elle Duncan that he's severely bothered when, upon meeting a strapping fellow, the illusion of male bonding is shattered if their first handshake falls apart.
—EW.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Friday night, his fill-in, John Stamos, who had flown over from Spain, took the role anyway for a single night.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Aug. 2025
Verb
While live-feed viewers were already in the know on some of what went down, the latest episode filled in the blanks on Tuesday.
—Carson Blackwelder, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025
The government needs a way to fill in the gaps.
—Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fill-in
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fill-in
Noun
-
So flavorful is Mendel that 3BR often uses it as a substitute for gin in cocktails made in the distillery tasting room.—
Don Tse,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Material World is a weekly roundup of innovations and ideas within the materials sector, covering news from emerging biomaterials and alternative leathers to sustainable substitutes and future-proof fibers.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The algorithms are tuned with AI models informed by physics, allowing the sensors to adapt in real time without massive data training.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Sep. 2025
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Israel had to inform the US without jeopardizing the operation.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In the next shot, the two are standing in the room as Musk gets personal to reveal the complexities of his relationship status with onetime girlfriend and mother of his three children, Grimes, whose real name is Claire Elise Boucher.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Sep. 2025
-
This spring, a second-generation strawberry farmer in California stood in his fields with two generations of farmers by his side.—
Ivanka Trump,
Fortune,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
However, it wasn't positioned as a replacement for the Plus, but as the company exploring a new design trend.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
-
If White is recalled, a temporary replacement will be appointed by either county legislators or a judge until voters can elect a new county executive in November 2026.—
Ilana Arougheti,
Kansas City Star,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In recent months, tariffs modestly contributed to the uptick in overall inflation, analysts previously told ABC News, but overall price increases owed largely to a rise in housing and food products with little connection to Trump’s levies.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
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Kaivan Shroff, a 2024 delegate for Harris, said the former vice president has the right to tell the story of her campaign, as does Biden, who has conducted a few interviews and speeches since leaving office.—
Mabinty Quarshie,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In other words, Ellison’s surge in wealth Wednesday morning reflected investor expectations that computers will take over many jobs now done by humans — and Oracle will benefit.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
11 Sep. 2025
-
African states, too, have started hiring Russian, Turkish, Romanian, and South African private military companies (PMCs) to battle insurgencies, to deploy drones against jihadists, and to reclaim resource-rich areas taken over by rebels.—
Alia Brahimi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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That backup has since grown into a hundreds-strong campaign to refute the DHS allegations, which supporters call a resurgence of anti-Muslim fearmongering that has persisted across party lines since the 9/11 attacks 24 years ago this month.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
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The primary backup appears to have dodged a bullet.—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Skinner advises travelers to try their best to remain calm and engage with the person as little as possible.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
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Velasco advised a student with a talent for poetry to apply for the Oskar Knoblauch Holocaust Impact Video Contest using one of his poems.—
Erick Trevino,
AZCentral.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fill-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fill-in. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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